The Littlest Lisbon
by Colourful Glitter
Summary: Lisbon's four-year-old niece comes to visit for a month. Who knew having a four-year-old around could be such a bonding experience. Little bit of Jisbon in there.
1. Smile

**Author's Note: Hi. This is my first Mentalist fanfiction. I just got a random inspiration and ran with it, so I hope you all enjoy. Please read and review! =3**

* * *

Teresa Lisbon sat at her desk looking at all the paperwork she had to do, but was too distracted to be able to actually work on it. Today was the day her second niece was going to be dropped off. Melody Lisbon. Teresa had met her only once when she had managed to make it back home for Christmas last year. James was quite proud of his daughter, the woman that was the little girl's mother was not so receiving to her new role in life so did everything she could to avoid it. At least, that's what James had said. James needed to leave for work for the month. Tommy couldn't watch both Melody and Annie, though Annie had been very enthusiastic to spend the month helping to babysit-especially since it would have looked good to her dad and would have earned her some favours. Teresa didn't have the heart to refuse watching her youngest niece for the month, especially when James was working so hard, so she had agreed to it. The phone on her desk rang and Lisbon jumped slightly before picking it up.

"Lisbon." She answered in her usual, serious tone and then listened to the voice on the other end of the line. "Alright. Thank you. Send them up." Lisbon sighed after she hung up. She had already informed the team about their guest, now it was time for them to finally meet her. Lisbon filed away some of the papers and packed some others in her briefcase to complete later, then got up and went to the elevator to greet James and Melody. The elevator pinged and the doors opened just as Lisbon was approaching. Her brother and her niece stepped out.

"Teresa." James greeted cheerfully as he stood the roll-along suitcase he was dragging off to the side so he could give his sister a hug.

"Hello." Teresa smiled and returned his hug before pulling away and looking down at the little girl that was standing beside her father. She smiled down at Melody. Last time Teresa had seen her, Melody had been three. Now she was four, almost five.

"Hi, Teresa." Melody said with a beaming, innocent smile. Her dark hair was pulled back into two pigtails and her eyes were just as big and bright piercing turquoise as they had been before. She wore a furry, teddy bear shaped back pack, tie-dyed t-shirt, black soccer shorts and sparkly purple gladiator sandals.

"Hi, Melody. You've grown."

The four year old nodded enthusiastically, still smiling. "And I can read big kid novel books."

"Congratulations." Lisbon leaned down and gave the girl a hug.

"She's really excited." James said quietly, with a thankful smile when Teresa stood back up. "Thank you. Again."

"It's no problem. Don't worry about it." Lisbon smiled.

"Do you want me to help get her stuff in your car or-"

"No, it's alright. You have a plane to catch. Just put it in my office. That'll be fine for now."

"Is it a big office?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, it's pretty big, for an office at least." Lisbon smiled.

"And do I get to meet your team like Daddy said?" Melody asked.

"Yes." Lisbon answered as James grabbed the rolling suitcase and they made their way to her office. Melody walked excitedly with them. When they passed the bullpen, she glanced through the door, trying to get a sneak peek.

Lisbon opened her office door for them and James walked in and rested the rolling suitcase on the side of the white couch. Melody followed, lagging a bit behind as she observed the new setting.

"She has her Nintendo DS and her favourite video games in her teddy bear bag." James started to explain.

"His name is Sir Stitch-a-Lot." Melody corrected her father and both the adults turned to look at her where she was standing just inside the doorway.

Lisbon gave a small smile of amusement.

"Right." James said, then corrected himself. "Sir Stitch-a-Lot is also holding her new book that she's reading and her yo-yo."

"Where did he get that name?" Lisbon asked as the smile grew a bit.

James sighed. "She found at some kind of rummage sale thing while we were on a trip for her fourth birthday and so I bought him for her. After we washed him, we found some rips so I helped her stitch him back together...but she insisted on using the yellow and neon green thread. When you actually look at him, you'll see it."

"Aw. That's actually really cute." Lisbon chuckled.

Melody got bored waiting by the door so she silently slipped out as her father was explaining about the colouring books and other things he had packed to entertain her. She wandered just across the hallway and cautiously peeked around one of the entrances to the bullpen. To her left she saw a young red haired woman, typing away at her computer and looking very focused. To her right and on the far wall a muscular looking man with dark hair who was also working at a desk and at the desk behind him was an also muscular looking and hard at work Asian man. What peaked her curiosity was the blond, curly haired man asleep on the couch that rested against the far wall across from the red haired agent. Police weren't allowed to sleep on the job...were they? No one else was sleeping. She stepped quietly into the bullpen and then took a few more steps, observing the other agents who were all working. Further to her right she saw a small kitchen. Maybe Teresa could get her something to eat. She had convinced her dad that she hadn't been hungry on the plane because their food was gross, but she was quite hungry now. Some of the agents glanced over at her so she smiled and waved. The muscular man in the first desk to her right returned her gesture and so did the red haired agent. Melody turned to go back and see how her father and aunt were doing but ran right into her aunt on her way out.

"There you are." Her father sighed as he bent down and scooped her up. "No running off on Teresa like that, you understand?" He said, placing his daughter on his hip and looked her in the eyes.

"Yes." Melody nodded.

"Okay. I have to leave now, and Teresa is going to take care of you while I'm gone. What should you remember?"

"Don't touch Teresa's gun." Melody recited.

"And?"

"And don't touch anyone else's gun or files."

"And?"

"Don't be really noisy when I'm in the work building."

"And?"

"Don't distract everyone."

"_And?_"

Melody furrowed her brow, not thinking there was anything else he had told her that she had to remember.

"What's the most important thing that you _always_ have to remember, no matter what?"

Realisation crossed Melody's face. "You love me and are proud of me." Melody smiled, knowing that she had the right answer.

James smile. "Atta girl!" He kissed her on the forehead and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"I love you too, Daddy." Melody kissed him on the cheek.

James passed Melody over to his sister and gave them both one final hug. "I'll see you in a month, Melody Teresa Lisbon. Be good." He smiled and waved at everyone and then left. Teresa stood there, holding Melody and they waved until the elevator doors shut behind James.

By this time most of the team had put aside their work and gathered around Teresa and Melody. Jane seemed to be especially interested in the recent happenings. He had gotten a heads up just like everyone else, sure, but now he was actually seeing it unfold.

"So he named his daughter after his older sister." Jane said, amused.

"Well I think it's really cute." Grace shot Jane a small glare, warning him not to make fun.

"Yeah. I like my name." Melody piped up from where she rested on Lisbon's hip. She was smiling as she had been from the moment she walked in with her dad. She looked at Lisbon. "Is this your team?"

"Yes. This is my team."

Van Pelt stepped forward first with a smile on her face and held out her hands to take Melody. "I'm Grace Van Pelt." she introduced herself when Lisbon passed the little girl over.

Melody gave her a hug and said hello. "I like your hair." She took a handful and ran her fingers through it. "It's a pretty colour."

"Thank you." Grace smiled and then gave her to Rigsby.

"Who are you?" Melody asked him.

"I'm Wayne Rigsby."

Melody's eyes grew wide and her mouth made an O shape. "Like Batman Wayne?"

Everyone bit back giggles and Rigsby smiled.

"Yeah. Like Batman." He nodded. Being compared to a super hero. Not bad.

Melody was then given to Cho.

"Hello. I'm Kimball Cho." He said in his usual deadpan expression.

Melody just looked at him for a moment. "Are you angry?" She finally asked.

"No."

"Sad?"

"No."

"Then why aren't you smiling?"

Cho just shrugged.

"Do you know how to smile?" Melody asked.

"Yes."

"Show me."

"Why?"

"So I know you can for sure."

Cho did nothing.

Melody's brows furrowed slightly then took her pointy fingers and placed one on each end of Cho's mouth, pushing the corners upward into a forced smile. "See? It's really easy."

Cho turned his head slightly to move his mouth away from her fingers.

"Melody. That's not nice." Lisbon chastised lightly and stepped forward, taking Melody from Cho's arms. "You can't force people to smile if they don't want to."

Melody looked at her aunt and sighed. "Okay."

Regardless of whether it was nice or not, everyone had to bite back more laughter. Jane was more entertained by Melody then he thought he would be.

"Aren't you all forgetting someone?" He asked, referring to the fact no one had given him Melody so he could introduce himself.

Lisbon gave him a sceptical look. "I think she's had enough introductions for one day. I don't need you corrupting Melody too."

Melody looked up at Lisbon and then over to Jane. She gave him a wave and a smile.

"Aw, come on, Lisbon. I'm not going to hurt her. Annie's fine." Jane playfully whined.

Lisbon raised a brow.

"Don't worry, Teresa." Melody patted her aunt's shoulder. "If he tries to hurt me or give me the core-up-ting, you can stop him."

Lisbon looked over at her niece and sighed. Jane was going to introduce himself by force if she didn't let him now.

Jane stepped forward and held out his arms, taking Melody from Lisbon. "I'm Patrick Jane."

"Why do you have a girl name?"

"It's my last name." Jane told her.

"But why is it a girl name?" Melody's brows furrowed again.

"Because that's what the universe wanted my name to be." Jane replied.

"Okay." Melody said. There was a low grumble that came from her stomach and she slapped a hand over it and turned to look at Lisbon. "Teresa? Can I have some food? I'm hungry."

"Didn't you eat super on the plane?" Lisbon asked. The last time she checked the clock, it was eight PM, and that was when she'd gotten the call to let her know they were here.

Melody wrinkled her nose. "Their food is gross. I told Daddy that I wasn't hungry. I had a sandwich while we were waiting for the air plane."

Lisbon was about to say that they could go get some food when a voice from behind her beat her to talking.

"Lisbon? Do you have a minute?"

Everyone turned to see Wainwright standing in the nearest entrance to the bullpen.

"Hello." Melody called to him, smiling and waving. Clearly she wasn't much of a shy girl.

Wainwright gave her a small smile and waved back, not wanting to ignore her.

Lisbon was stuck in a moment of conflict, looking between her niece and her boss. Which should she pick first?

"Maybe I can get some food myself..." Melody offered.

"I'll take her, boss." Rigsby said as Jane put Melody down.

"Yes, send her to get some food with the food master." Jane joked and sent Rigsby a toothy smile.

Rigsby just rolled his eyes and took Melody's hand.

"Thank you." Lisbon said to Rigsby. Then she looked at Melody. "I'll see you in a few minutes. Go find something tasty with Rigsby."

"Okay." Melody nodded, happily, then looked up at Rigsby. "Come on, Batman. Let's go get some food."


	2. Monster Feet

**Author's Note: I'm actually surprising myself by updating so soon. Haha. But I figured I might as well since I finished this chapter. I must warn that most of my updates are probably not going to be this quick, but I will try and update as soon as possible. anyway. I hope you all continue to enjoy and please read and review! =D**

* * *

Yes. Having Melody here was going to be a lot of fun, Jane decided. Rigsby had given her one of his yogurt drinks and he found some left over pepperoni pizza in the fridge from the night before. When they had returned to the bullpen, Wainwright was still talking with Lisbon in her office and because of her promise to her father to be good, Melody didn't want to interrupt. Since everyone else had paperwork and Jane had the space, he offered Melody a spot on his couch and she accepted. Jane asked her questions about her teddy backpack with the odd stitching and she explained how Sir Stitch-a-Lot had gotten his name. The item in question was sitting between them and Jane asked what was in it.

"My videogames, my book and my yo-yo." Melody said proudly as she took her last bite of pizza.

"Wow. That sounds like some fun stuff." Jane said, patting the bears head.

Melody nodded since her cheeks were still full.

"Maybe sometime you could show me the videogames." Jane suggested.

Melody finished chewing and swallowed her food. "Okay. What do you want to play first? Scooby-Doo? Hello Kitty? Crash Bandicoot? Brain Age?"

"Surprise me." Jane jumped in, interrupting what was probably a very long list.

"Okay. Maybe I'll just pick one out of a hat." Melody said.

"That sounds like a good idea. But not tonight. I'm sure you've had a long day." Jane said.

"Yeah." Melody sighed and finished off the yogurt drink before placing the container on the plate that had held her pizza. "I'm going to be right back. I need to go put the dish in the sink and throw out the plastic." Melody got up, grabbing Sir Stitch-a-Lot and made her way back to the kitchenette. By the time she returned, Wainwright was leaving Lisbon's office and Lisbon walked into the bullpen. "Hi, Teresa." Melody called.

"Hi. Did you get some food?" Lisbon looked over at Melody who was walking over to her.

"Yeah." Melody nodded. "Batman got me some pizza and a yogurt drink. It was really tasty."

Lisbon looked over to Rigsby. He had shared his yogurt drinks? Wow. Ah, the power of being little and cute. Or maybe it was the fact that Melody basically proclaimed him to be a super hero. "Do you want to stay out here, or would you like to come with me back to my office?"  
Melody looked between the bullpen and her aunt, thinking. "Uuummm...can I go with you?"

"Sure." Lisbon said, holding out her hand and Melody took it.

"See you all later." Melody turned and waved at everyone as she followed Lisbon back to her office. a chorus of "see you laters" covered her exit.

"How about you get into your pyjamas." Lisbon said. "It's getting a bit late. Maybe you would be more comfortable."

"Yeah." Melody nodded and followed her aunt over to the big rolling suit case which Teresa lay on the floor and unzipped the main compartment of the suitcase.

Clearly James was taking his role as a single father very seriously. An abundance of clothes were packed very neatly and tightly into the suitcase. How was she supposed to find one pair of pyjamas in this? She rummaged through the clothes, careful not to mess everything up. After a few minutes she found the desired article of clothing.

"And my slippers." Melody said, grabbing a pair of matching objects that Lisbon hadn't put a name to. Now she knew. They had rainbow coloured fur and plushy claws.

Obviously they were supposed to be some kind of odd monster feet. "Where's the bathroom?" Melody asked.

"I'll show you." Lisbon took the younger girls hand and lead her back out of the office and down the hall to the bathroom. Melody took the first stall and quickly changed. Lisbon held onto the slippers because she didn't want them to get gross from the bathroom floor.

When Melody reappeared in her pyjamas, she washed her hands and went back with Lisbon to her office. Lisbon looked at Melody's pyjamas. They were light purple shirt and shorts set. The shirt was sleeveless with thick straps and both the shirt and shorts had some kind of creatures showing on them. "What are these?" Lisbon asked as she sat Melody on her white couch and got her slippers on. Then she poked the odd yellow creature on the front of her shirt.

"They're Pokémon." Melody told her, proudly.

"Pokémon?" Lisbon repeated.

"Yep." Melody nodded. "This is a Pikachu." She pointed at the creature that Lisbon had poked on her shirt. "And this is a Squirttle." She pointed at one of the creatures on the shorts then moved her finger to the next one. "And this is an Eevee. And this is a Volpix. And this is a Wabuffet. And this-"

"Wow. That's a lot of Pokémon." Lisbon smiled.

"Yep. I know almost all of them."

"You have a good memory then." Lisbon poked the little girls nose. She then took out the pigtails in Melody's hair, careful not to hurt the girl.

"That's what Daddy said, too." Melody smiled.

Lisbon went back to her desk.

"Do you want me to help with anything?" Melody asked.

"Um..."Lisbon thought a moment. She couldn't just have the poor girl sit there and twiddle her thumbs. She'd get bored. "Why don't you draw me another pretty picture? Or colour a really nice picture." Lisbon offered.

"Yeah!" Melody cheered and opened the bag that had her big box of crayons and doodling pad. She began her work of art.

It was nine-thirty when Van Pelt came to say good night to the Lisbon's and wishes for a good night were returned. Melody's eyes were feeling really droopy as she finished the picture and looked over at Teresa who was still focused on her work. Cho and Rigsby also stopped by to say good night and left. Melody put her picture to the side and decided to close her eyes for a moment before she showed Teresa her new picture.  
Melody woke up a little while later still on the couch. She looked around for a moment and then sat up, tiredly stretching. She saw Teresa with her head resting on her folded arms on her desk. Clearly she was sleeping. Melody got off the couch and padded over to stand next to Teresa. "Teresa." She whispered, patting the older girl's leg. "Teresa."

"Mnh." Teresa stirred and lifted her head, looking over at Melody.

Melody opened her mouth to say they should go home, but she remembered that her dad said tired people shouldn't drive because it was dangerous. "Time for sleep." Melody whispered and held out her hand.

Teresa took the offered hand and let Melody guide her over to the white couch.

Melody moved her things quickly as Teresa set one of the pillows up for them and grabbed a blanket. Teresa's movements were zombie-like. Almost like she was sleep walking. She kicked off her shoes and lay down on her side, inviting Melody to the available space. Melody accepted the invitation, kicking off her slippers, crawling under the blanket and snuggling against Teresa she closed her eyes, drifting off to seep.

Lisbon was woken up by faint sunlight and the gentle swoosh of her office door opening as the blinds banged against the metal lightly. Her eyelids fluttered and then slowly opened. It took a moment for her brain to focus and realise where she was. She was in her office...sleeping on her couch? No. That can't be right. She didn't even remember falling asleep, let alone moving to her couch. Her brain registered the sensation of breath on her neck and she looked down to see Melody tucked tightly to her, her arms around the small girl.

"So, you're finally up." A quiet voice startled Lisbon and made her jump slightly.

Melody just squeezed her eyes tighter and snuggled closer to her.

"What do you want, Jane?" Lisbon grumbled quietly, gently placing a hand over Melody's exposed ear.

"Well nothing." Jane shrugged as he gently sat on the edge of the couch. "Just thought I'd see if you were awake. Both of you are very cute." He smiled.

"What time is it?" Lisbon asked.

"About five-fifteen." Jane told her.

"Oh, damn it." Lisbon muttered.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked.

"I don't want to get up. And I have to go home and shower and change."

"Well, do you want some help loading Melody's things into your car?" Jane asked.

"And I don't have a car seat for her." Lisbon covered her eyes with her arm. "I knew I forgot something."

"Well I'm sure that you're not that bad of a driver that you'll get into a car accident with her." Jane said.

"She's under eight years old. It's illegal for her to not be in a car seat." Lisbon told him through clenched teeth. He'd had a daughter. How did he not know this?

"Then I'll just hold onto her while you drive."

Lisbon moved her arm away from her eyes to glare at him. "I'm sure that'd be _much_ safer." She said, sarcastically.

"Good to know you trust me that much." Jane smiled at her.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and sat up, bringing Melody with her since the little girl didn't let go of her.

"Well what other choice do you have?" Jane asked, proving his point.

Lisbon frowned, knowing that he was right. "Fine. But first help me get her stuff into my car."

Jane smiled knowing that he'd won that round. He went over and started loading Melody's bags onto his shoulders and grabbed the big suitcase.

Lisbon placed the blanket back on top of the couch and adjusted Melody to make it more comfortable as she stood up. When Jane was holding all the bags they left Lisbon's office and made it to the elevator. It was a quick ride down to the parking lot, which was basically deserted at this time in the morning. They walked over to Lisbon's car and she fished out her keys to pop the trunk and Jane loaded the suitcases in. When he was finished he opened the back car door on the passenger side and held out his arms to take Melody. It wasn't easy. The girl had quite a strong grip. It took much cooing and persistent nudges before Melody let go of Lisbon's shirt and Jane could take her. He sat down carefully in the back seat and Lisbon helped him put on his seat belt before getting in the drivers seat and starting the car. The drive to her apartment was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence.

When they finally got to her apartment, Lisbon turned off the car and they both got out, shutting their doors quietly, trying not to wake up Melody. Lisbon walked up the front steps and unlocked the door, stepping in and to the side so Jane could enter with Melody.

"Put her in the guest room." Lisbon told him.

He nodded, kicked off his shoes and headed up the stairs while Lisbon went out to the car to grab some of Melody's things.

Lisbon grabbed all of the bags that she could carry, leaving the big suitcase for a second trip. While she was walking back inside Jane was putting his shoes back on and then went back out to the car to grab the big suitcase. Lisbon kicked off her shoes as well and headed upstairs to the guest bedroom. The room had very minimal amount of light, which was good for helping Melody sleep and Lisbon had enough light to see where she was going. She had to admit, for sleeping on her office couch with a four year old, Lisbon had slept pretty well. Lisbon put Melody's things on the chair in one corner of the room and not too long later, Jane entered and placed the suitcase next to the chair.

"Thank you." Lisbon said, softly.

Jane just shrugged and smiled. "You're welcome."

"I'm going to take a shower now. You can go find something to eat." Lisbon told him.

"Okay. You still have some tea around, don't you, Lisbon?" Jane asked.

Lisbon sighed irritably. "I don't know, Jane. Go check for yourself. Honestly." And with that, Lisbon left to shower.

Jane wandered out of the room, softly closing the door behind him and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Quickly, he found his tea and a cup and made some. Out of boredom, Jane started poking around in Lisbon's cupboards. Usually she had very little to eat in her kitchen, but he found a little bit more food than usual. She most likely went shopping so she'd be able to feed her little guest. In one of the cupboards Jane found a colourful cereal box and he lifted it out to look at it. It was, so far, unopened and he observed the pictures on it. The young cartoon girl on the front with dark hair that was pulled back into a pony tail and wearing a colourful outfit and waving around the spoon oddly reminded him of Melody. The girl appeared to have some kind of exotic and colourful bird friend and in the background was a bowl of the rainbow coloured cereal that was in the box. The small green rectangle in the bottom right corner of the box let him know that the cereal was a source of calcium.

"And that's probably only if you have the cereal with milk." Jane thought to himself and smirked. He put the box back and sat at the table, drinking his tea and waiting for Lisbon to return from her shower.

Lisbon walked into the kitchen a few moments later in a fresh change of clothes and towel-drying her hair. She went over to the coffee maker and started brewing a fresh cup and smiled when the scent filled the air in the kitchen.

"So, is she coming back to CBI today as well?" Jane asked after a few minutes of silence.

Lisbon sighed. "There's really not much else I can do with her. I'm not comfortable leaving her with some random babysitter. Bethany a few units over offered to watch her if we get a case we have to go away on."

"Don't we all get vacation next week?" Jane asked.

"Yeah." Lisbon leaned on the counter, sipping her steaming coffee.

"We should all do something fun together, like go to an amusement park or something. Rigsby can bring Ben and Sarah and you can bring Melody." Jane suggested.

"I'm not taking her to an amusement park, Jane. She's too small to go on anything except the stupid kiddie-rides. And even some of those she might be too small for."

"Is that what happened to you?" Jane asked. She was small for a grown woman so it would make sense if she'd been a very small child as well.

Lisbon huffed and glared. "No, that is not what happened to me."

Jane raised a brow. "You sure? I bet you were that cute too when you were Melody's age."

That caught Lisbon by surprise and she looked away for a moment. "That's not really relevant."

"Oh, but it is." Jane told her.

"How?"

"Because it entertains me."

Lisbon glared at him again.

"Oh, come on! She looks _exactly_ like you. Well, with a slightly different eye colour and a different jaw line, but my point stands." Jane shrugged.

"Go take a shower or something. And leave me alone." Lisbon turned and busied herself with finding something to eat.

Jane finished his tea and rinsed his cup out in the sink before sitting back down on the same chair.

Lisbon had just decided to have some of the colourful cereal, that she really bought for Melody, for breakfast.

Jane poured himself a bowl as well and they ate in silence until they heard the pitter patter of small feet making their way down the stairs.

They both looked at the entrance to the kitchen and Melody appeared, rubbing her eyes and yawning tiredly.

"Mornin'." She slurred.

"Do you want some cereal?" Lisbon asked, getting up to get Melody a bowl and spoon since the milk and cereal were already on the table.

"Yes please." Melody walked over to an empty chair and pulled it out from underneath the table and climbed up onto it.

Lisbon poured the cereal and milk into the bowl and placed it on the place mat in front of Melody and the little girl dug in, happily munching on her favourite cereal.

"Is this where you live?" Melody asked Lisbon.

"Yep." Lisbon nodded.

Melody looked curiously at Jane. "Does he live here, too?"

Lisbon almost choked on her sip of coffee while Jane just smirked. "No." Lisbon told her niece. "He's just visiting."

"Doesn't he live near here?"

"Yes, he does." Lisbon glared at Jane who seemed to be enjoying this. "He just really likes my house."

"Better than his house?"

"Apparently so." Lisbon got up to rinse her dishes in the sink.

"Then why doesn't he just move in?" Melody asked.

Lisbon heard Jane stifle a laugh behind her. "That's a splendid idea, Melody." Jane told her. "I really might as well move in. I practically live here, anyway. But, see. Teresa likes her privacy. And I like invading privacy."

"Then why don't you stop invading privacy?" Melody asked Jane.

"Oh, the question I've been wondering for years." Lisbon sighed dramatically as she made her way back to her seat at the table.

"Ha. Ha." Jane retorted sarcastically.

After Melody had finished her breakfast, Lisbon took her back upstairs to change.

"So, what do you want to wear today, Melody?" Lisbon asked as she sat cross-legged in front of Melody's open suitcase with Melody standing next to her.

Melody looked over the contents of the suitcase, concentration written all over her little face. Slowly, she reached in and pulled out a t-shirt and looked at it. Deciding she didn't want to wear it today, she lazily threw it to the side.

"Don't throw your clean clothes on the floor." Lisbon told her. "Here. Give me the shirt."

Melody picked up the shirt and handed it to Lisbon, who carefully folded it and placed it beside her. She made a mental note to put Melody's clothes in the empty dresser drawers. Multiple more t-shirts were looked at and passed over before she found one she wanted. Then the process was repeated with shorts and pants. By the time Melody had changed, she was wearing a dark purple _Hello Kitty_ t-shirt, neon green shorts with black sequins on the outer legs and rainbow striped toe-socks. Digging around in the other compartments of the suitcase, Lisbon found a hair brush and carefully brushed the girls hair. The plastic bag that had been carefully tucked in the corner of the suitcase held some more footwear. It had a pair of red and black plaid high-top _Converse_ sneakers, regular running shoes and a pair of sparkling black dress shoes with little yellow stars along the strap. Lisbon pulled out the _Converse_ and closed the suitcase again. Melody grabbed Sir Stitch-a-Lot while Lisbon put the unwanted clothes on Melody's bed, promising herself she'd put them away tonight.

"Back so soon?" Jane asked as they joined him in the front hall. He had been waiting there for at least ten minutes!

"Give the girl a break." Lisbon shot back. "A girl needs time to look this good. Don't they, Melody?"

Melody giggled and looked up at the two adults, smiling and nodding. "Yep."

"Told you." Lisbon stuck out her tongue childishly.

Jane just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you two?" he sighed.


	3. A Case?

**Author's Note: Hi! Sorry this chapter took so long, but hopefully you all enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own The Mentalist.  
**

* * *

Lisbon stopped by Jane's place very quickly and he ran in to change his clothes before joining them again in the car. Melody was sitting in the very middle back seat since it was the safest seat in the car. Jane sat in the back as well, keeping a hand on the girls shoulder, just in case as Lisbon drove. It was just past nine when the trio walked into the bullpen, completely ignoring the curiosity in the eyes of the rest of the team-or in Melody's case, completely oblivious to.

"Hello." Lisbon greeted the other team members that had gotten there earlier. Melody was holding Lisbon's hand and almost jogging to keep up with Lisbon's longer strides.

"Hello!" Melody echoed in usual child fashion.

"Good morning everyone." Jane greeted in his usual cheeriness.

"Hi." Van Pelt replied, smiling and waving at Melody who waved back.

"Morning." Cho said in his usual stoic manner.

"Hey, guys." Rigsby smiled, looking up from his work. The phone on his desk rang and he picked it up. "Rigsby." He was silent for a moment as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. "Yeah. Okay. We'll be right there."

Lisbon groaned when she saw the look on Rigsby's face. "A case?" She asked.

"Yeah." Rigsby replied. "The son of a local politician was found in a hotel room asphyxiated."

Lisbon let out an irritated sigh and pulled out her cell, dialing a number and walking out of the bullpen with Melody trailing close behind her. "Hi, Bethany. It's Teresa. Um, is it too late to take you up on your babysitting offer?" She listened a moment and then smiled. "Thank you so much. We'll be there in about twenty minutes. Yeah. Thank you so much." Lisbon looked down at Melody and smiled. "Would you like to meet Bethany?"

Melody frowned a little bit. "Why can't I stay here?"

Lisbon kneeled down so that she could be at eye level with Melody. "These cases can sometimes get dangerous. I don't want you to have to see all the bad things that happen."

"But...what if I promise to stay in your office?" Melody pouted. "I can hide under your desk."

"No. Because lots of bad people are here when we have a case and I don't want you to be around lots of bad people. It's not safe for you."

"Then why are you around all the bad people, Teresa? What if they hurt you?"

"That's my job. I have to take that risk to keep good people like you safe." Lisbon brushed some hair out of Melody's face.

Melody's lower lip began to quiver. "But..."

"No buts. I'll be fine and I will pick you up tonight when it's calmed down a bit. You'll like Bethany, though. I'm sure you two will have lots of fun together until I get there."

"But I want to have fun with you."

"And we'll have lots of fun next week when I'm on vacation. Maybe we can even go to the carnival and the zoo." Lisbon tried to sound really excited, but Melody didn't seem to be feeling all the excitement.

The little girl shifted on her feet and looked very undecided. "Okay." she mumbled and followed Lisbon back out to her car to be dropped off at Bethany's.

"How'd she take it?" Van Pelt asked Lisbon when they had a moment alone, driving to meet one of the victim's friends.

"Um..." Lisbon wasn't sure exactly how to put it. "Not so well."

"How bad?"

"I leaned down and gave her a hug...I had to wrestle her to let go."

"Aw." Van Pelt felt bad that they had, had to leave Melody with a babysitter, but that was still cute. "Just think how happy she's going to be when you pick her up, though."

"Oh, I hope so." Lisbon sighed as they pulled into the driveway of the friend's house.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Van Pelt smiled as they got out of the car and made their way up to the front door.

Lisbon knocked and they waited a moment before the door swung open to reveal a boy in his very early twenties with brown eyes and a head of perfectly jelled light brown hair. "Richard Junes?" Lisbon asked.

"Yeah." The boy looked confused.

"I'm Agent Teresa Lisbon. This is Agent Van Pelt." They both showed him their badges. "We're just here to ask you a few questions about your friend, Evan Downey."

"Uh, um. Okay. Come in." Richard opened the door wider and stepped aside to let them in. He led them to the living room and they sat down. "What's this about? Is Evan in trouble?"

Lisbon cleared her throat. "Evan is dead." She told him softly.

Confusion and disbelief hit Richards expression. "What? No. How? Why...why would anyone want to kill him?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Van Pelt told him. "Answering our questions as best you can would really help us."

"Yeah." Richard nodded. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Was Evan in a relationship of any kind? Girlfriend? Secret lover? Anything like that?" Lisbon asked.

"No...No, he was so concentrated on his school work. Said he never had time for stuff like that. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, y'know?"

"So I've heard." Van Pelt smiled encouragingly.

"Where were you last night at about ten PM?" Lisbon asked.

"I was here with some friends. It was Jeff's twenty-first birthday so we were celebrating. He's the baby. You know how it is. Evan...Evan told me he was busy, so he couldn't..." Richard took a deep breath.

"You didn't go out instead?" Van Pelt asked, curiously.

"Well, everyone could crash here. So no one had to worry about being a designated driver." Richard told her.

"That's actually a really smart idea." Grace said.

"Thanks." Richard gave a small smile.

"We're going to need the names of those friends." Lisbon said.

"Sure." Richard started naming off the people that had been there.

Lisbon and Van Pelt asked him a few more questions before saying good bye and seeing themselves out.

When they pulled out of the driveway, Van Pelt pulled out her phone and her note pad and called Rigsby and put it on speaker phone.

He answered on the second ring. "Rigsby."

"Hey. It's me. Lisbon and I have some names we need you to check out."

"Alright, shoot."

Van Pet could hear Rigsby typing as she read out the names from her list.

"Give some of them a call." Lisbon added. "See if any of them can verify that Richard Junes was with them last night."

"Will do, boss." Rigsby said. "Bye."

"Bye." Lisbon and Van Pelt chorused as they continued to drive back to the CBI.

"Did you find anything yet?" Lisbon asked as she and Van Pelt walked into the bullpen.

"Richard Junes alibi checks out." Rigsby told her. "All the other friends are clean, too."

"Some of his co-workers said that he had gotten into an argument with someone a few days ago. They said they don't know who it was but they heard Evan on the phone arguing with someone and he seemed distraught after." Cho piped up.

"Alright. Stay on that, then." Lisbon said to Cho. "Anything else?" She asked.

"I'll look into his credit history." Van Pelt stated, sitting at her desk. "Maybe it's a money issue?"

"It's worth checking out." Lisbon nodded and went to her office to work.

By the end of the day Lisbon was tired. Apparently, lots of people liked to call Evan, as Cho had found out when he got the phone records. The list was three pages long! And that was just the last two days. He didn't go many places, though. And what he was doing at the hotel, when he had a perfectly good apartment to go to, was still a mystery. Lisbon called it a night and sent her team home to get some rest and then left herself and gave Bethany a call to let her know she was on her way.

Lisbon parked in her driveway and then walked the few doors down to Bethany's place and knocked on the door. It took a moment but the door finally opened and she saw Bethany standing in the doorway.

"Come in." Bethany said and moved to the side. "Melody will be down in a second."

A few moments later Melody came into the hallway and hugged Lisbon around the legs. "Hi, Teresa."

"Hey, Melody. Ready to go to bed?"

"Yeah." Melody said as she let go and started putting on her shoes.

"Thank you so much." Lisbon said again to Bethany. "Here." Lisbon handed the other woman a twenty dollar bill. "For your trouble."

"Oh, it was no trouble." Bethany said. "My plans got canceled for today, anyway. And, besides, Melody's adorable and we had lots of fun. Didn't we, Melody?"

"Yep." Melody smiled up at Bethany and politely nodded.

"Do you mind if I bring her back tomorrow?" Lisbon asked.

"Not at all!" Bethany replied, excitedly.

Lisbon picked Melody up, they said their goodbyes and then Lisbon started on her way home carrying Melody.

"Do I really have to go back tomorrow?" Melody sounded disappointed.

"Yes. Why do you sound like that's such a bad thing?"  
Melody looked around and then cupped her hands around Lisbon's ear. She leaned in and quietly whispered, "Her cat is crazy."

Lisbon snorted and then laughed. "What do you mean, her cat's crazy?"

"It jumps out and hisses all the time. And it sat on my picture. And it's really ugly." Melody explained.

"Don't call the cat ugly." Lisbon defended.

"Have you seen it, Teresa?"

"Well, no."

"It_ is_ ugly." Melody insisted.

"Either way, don't go around telling people that." Lisbon told her as she unlocked her front door and they entered. Lisbon put Melody down and locked the door behind them. "Did you eat?"

"Bethany made me a sandwich and potato tots." Melody answered, sitting down and struggling to take off her shoes.

Lisbon leaned down and helped her. "So you're not hungry then. Go get into your jammies. Maybe we can watch a movie."

"Okay." Melody said excitedly as she ran up to the guest room to get on her pyjamas.

Lisbon quickly took off her own shoes and made her way into the living room, wondering what movie she should watch with Melody. She opened the movie cabinet and looked through the…not so extensive collection. A few horror. Some comedy. She needed something appropriate for a four year old to see. She scanned the movies until her gaze landed on the first _Ice Age_ movie. That's appropriate. It was a kids movie after all. Lisbon turned on the TV and set up the DVD player as Melody walked in wearing her pyjamas and little monster feet slippers. Lisbon smiled at the sight of the girls slippers. They always seemed to amuse her for some reason. The doorbell rang just as the DVD tray retreated to play the DVD. Confused, Lisbon put down the remote and went to answer the door, instructing Melody to stay where she was.

"Hello, Lisbon." Jane said cheerily as she opened the door.

"Jane?" Lisbon was surprised. "What the hell are you doing here?" She saw a small suitcase resting by Jane's feet.

"Yeah, well. I wasn't going to stop by but the cleaning guy kicked me out." Jane rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't know where else to go."

"Did you try the place you are _supposed_ to be living? Or did the cleaning guy there kick you out as well?" Lisbon glared.

"Well that one is a funny story actually." Jane let out a small laugh.

"Oh, I bet it is." Lisbon grumbled.

"Long story short, I like it better here. I brought food." Jane raised a plastic bag that he was holding in his hand. "Pasta. You like pasta. Enough for two and a half people. Can I come in now? Or are we going to stand here awkwardly with the door open all night?"

Lisbon let out a heavy sigh and stood aside to let him in.

Melody walked over to the door, feeling it was okay for her to move from her spot now. "Hi, Patrick." The small girl stood next to Lisbon. "Are you sleeping over?"

Jane glanced up at Lisbon before he kneeled down to be at eye level with Melody. "Yes I am." He smiled.

"Did your house break?" Melody inquired.

"No." Jane shook his head. "I just like it here better."

"You told me that this morning." Melody stated.

"Yep." Jane stood back up. "And I bring food."

"Well the half person already ate." Lisbon told him.

"You already ate?" Jane asked her.

"Oh. Ha ha. You're so funny!" Lisbon said sarcastically and smacked Jane in the arm.

Jane just smiled and made his way into the kitchen and placed the food on the table.

Lisbon pulled out plates and cups and they divided up the food. Melody only got a very small portion because Lisbon didn't want to overfeed her niece. They ate and then went and watched the movie. Melody sat on Lisbon's lap, happily leaning back and watching the movie. Jane sat next to Lisbon, his arms resting on the top of the couch. As the movie played on, Lisbon's eyes started to feel heavier and heavier. Before she knew what was happening, her head was resting on Jane's shoulder and she was dozing off. Melody had also fallen asleep half way through the movie. Jane looked over at the pair and smiled, they were very cute. He wrapped his arms around them and hugged them closer, resting his head on Lisbon's and closing his eyes. Soon enough he was sleeping peacefully.

Jane was woken a few hours later by something pushing gently against his chest. He inhaled deeply, taking in Lisbon's scent before he peeked an eye open and saw Melody struggling to get out of Lisbon's grasp.

"What's wrong?" Jane mumbled tiredly at Melody.

"I have to pee." Melody's urgency was obvious in everything from her body language to her voice. "Let me go."

Jane realised then that he was also holding Melody in her spot and he loosened his grip around her, but Lisbon didn't.

Melody continued to struggle and was frustrated almost to the point of tears, Jane could see.

"Okay, relax. I'll get you out of there." Jane told her and she settled back, face still tight with urgency. Jane took one of Lisbon's hands in his, giving it a squeeze and gently moved it to the side. He did the same with the other hand and then Melody rolled onto the not occupied couch cushion next to Lisbon. Then she proceeded to scoot off the couch and hurried up the stairs, leaving Jane and Lisbon behind. Jane looked back at Lisbon, who was somehow still asleep. He should probably get her to go sleep in her proper bed, but he didn't want to wake her. Ever a gentleman, he decided to carry her up to her room so she could sleep properly. He slipped his free arm-the one not around Lisbon's shoulders-under her knees and pulled her a little bit closer and shifted slightly to make sure he wouldn't drop her before standing up. He smiled and turned to leave the living room and head upstairs. When he was half way up the stairs Melody appeared at the top, stopping to look at him and Lisbon quizzically. "Hey." Jane whispered up to her.

"Hi." Melody whispered back, her head tilted to the side curiously.

"Can you go make sure her bedroom door is open?" Jane asked.

"Yeah." Melody nodded and turned to go open the door.

Standing in the doorway to Lisbon's room is where Jane found her when he reached the second floor. "Thank you." He said as he walked past her and gently placed Lisbon on the bed.

"Welcome." Melody hurried over to see what was going on. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tucking her in." Jane told her as he shifted the blankets so that Lisbon was under them.

"I can help." Melody said, trying to scramble up onto the bed.

Jane quickly picked her up and gently placed her next to Lisbon who had shifted onto her side. He then adjusted the blankets with help from Melody so that Lisbon would be comfortable.

"Good night, Teresa." Melody whispered softly, kissing Lisbon's cheek and gently patted her head.

"Come on." Jane picked up Melody and carried her to the guest room. "I'll tuck you in as well."

Jane slept on the couch after he changed into his pyjamas and the next morning came all too soon.


	4. Crazy Cat

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took a little long to be posted. It is longer then the other chapters, that's probably why. That and my annoying writer's block. Thank you all for the kind reviews! Well, here it is. I hope you all enjoy! =3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist.**

* * *

The loud and irritating buzzing of the alarm clock is what woke Lisbon at 6:30 in the morning. She grumbled and hit the snooze button. It was just one of those days. When the alarm went off the second time she was even more irritated by it, but turned it off and got up anyway. As she sat up she realised that she was in the same clothes as yesterday and she didn't remember getting in bed. Maybe she sleep waked to bed. Like what had happened before in her office the night before. Concluding that she had just sleep walked upstairs, Lisbon tiredly searched her room for something to wear and then headed to the bathroom to shower and change. On her way, she poked her head into the guest room to check on Melody who was still sleeping.

It wasn't until seven that Lisbon got out of the shower. Had half an hour really passed? Oops. She quickly changed and went to wake Melody. When she went back to the guest room, though, the bed was empty. She went downstairs and found Melody in the kitchen with Jane. They each had a bowl of cereal and some toast. Melody had a glass of orange juice while Jane had a cup of tea.

"Good morning, Lisbon." Jane greeted her cheerily as she entered the kitchen.

Melody turned around in her chair and smiled at her aunt tiredly. "Morning, Teresa."

Lisbon smiled. "Morning, Melody." She leaned over and kissed the top of Melody's head before going to make some coffee.

When they were done eating Lisbon sent Melody to have a shower and change. When Melody returned downstairs ready for the day, Jane went up to have a quick shower while Lisbon dropped off Melody at Bethany's. A few minutes after Lisbon got back, Jane was showered, changed and ready to go. So they did.

"Anything new today?" Lisbon asked as she walked into the bullpen.

"I've narrowed down the list of people that had any kind of conflict with Evan." Van Pelt informed her boss. "Remember Richard Junes? The best friend? He said he hadn't had an argument with Evan, that they were getting along fine."

"But?" Lisbon encouraged Van Pelt to continue.

"_But_, when I checked the phone records, that telephone argument Evan had was with Richard." Van Pelt finished.

Lisbon let out a heavy sigh. "He has a solid alibi, though. We asked all the people he named. They all said he was with them the entire night."

"What were they doing?" Jane asked from where he had perched on his couch.

"They were celebrating one of their friend's twenty-first birthday." Lisbon said over her shoulder.

"So…they were all drunk pretty much the entire night." Jane pointed out.

"Rigsby. Cho. Go talk to Richard Junes again. Van Pelt, call the friends and ask them if they have any other proof that Richard was with them. I'm going to go talk to Evan's father, whose flight should have gotten in about half an hour ago." Lisbon gestured for Jane to follow her and swiftly he got up off the couch.

"Yes, boss." The team chorused and set about fulfilling their orders.

The doorbell rang while Melody was locked in a glaring contest with Cupcake, the crazy cat. Neither the animal or the small girl even noticed, much to involved with their competition. Bethany had given Melody some gummy treats and Cupcake had been eyeing them, Melody could tell. Melody pursed her lips while glaring and then tightened her grip on the bag of gummy treats.

The cat crouched menacingly on the floor near where Melody sat, glaring back with its tail slithering back and forth across the area rug. It looked like a blob of rolls of fat underneath its own multi-coloured rug of knotted fur.

"No." Melody bit out in a quiet voice at the cat. "You can't have any. You're just a crazy cat."

Bethany hurried past the living room and to the front door. "Richie!" The young woman said happily and hugged her guest. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty good." The young man stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Do you mind if I stay for a while? I just wanted to get out of my house for a bit."

"No. Not at all. I'm just babysitting for a friend."

"Well that's nice." The man said. "Where's the kid?"

"Melody?" Bethany walked into the living room with her friend behind her.

Melody didn't even look up or reply. She wasn't going to lose this completion to a cat. A _crazy_, _fat_ and _ugly_ cat.

"Are you playing with Cupcake?" Bethany asked, picking up her fat monstrosity that passed for a cat and it squirmed.

Melody replied now. She had won by default and could now resume eating her gummy treats. "Yeah?" She asked, selecting a treat and chewing on it.

"I'm glad you two are getting along." Bethany smiled and scratched behind her pet's ears. "This is my friend, Richie." She gestured to her guest.

Melody switched her gaze to the man with light brown hair and brown eyes. She wasn't very comfortable around him. He made her feel weird. "Hi." Melody smiled politely and waved. She had promised Teresa and her dad that she would behave.

"Hello." He smiled and sat down next to her as she shifted a little uncomfortable. "Melody is a pretty name."

"Thank you." Melody smiled again and then turned to Bethany. "Can we watch cartoons, now? And I'm hungry. Can I help make a snack?"

"You just had a snack." Bethany told Melody.

"But I'm still hungry. My tummy got bigger. And I want to help make a snack." Melody bit her bottom lip slightly, hoping Bethany would say it was okay.

"Um…sure. Lets see what we can find." Bethany held out her hand.

Melody tried to politely excuse herself from Richie then quickly got up and hurried over to Bethany. On her way out of the living room, Melody heard a cell phone ring and out of the corner of her eye saw Richie answering it. She was too far to really hear what he was saying, though.

"Where is he?" Rigsby asked impatiently for the fifth time.

"Asking that isn't going to make him show up any sooner." Cho told him. Moments later, Lisbon and Jane walked into the bullpen with Van Pelt right behind them.

"What did you find out from Junes?" Lisbon asked the pair.

"Nothing." Cho replied.

"He said he was on some urgent errand with a friend. He told us he would be here by eleven." Rigsby explained.

"It's eleven-thirty." Lisbon groaned. "He could be running!"

"Neither him or any of his friends bought a plane, bus or subway ticket." Cho told her. "His car was in the driveway when we got there. We tried calling him again, but his phone keeps going straight to voicemail. But he still has to be local."

"Van Pelt." Lisbon said. "Put a track on Richard's phone. If it's on, we should find him."

"Will do, boss." Van Pelt sat down and began to track Richard Junes' cell phone.

"Whoa." Rigsby muttered under his breath. "Boss, look at this."

Lisbon made her way over to Rigsby's desk. "What is it?"

"Maybe morals are the motive." Rigsby suggested as Lisbon stood behind him and looked at his computer monitor.

"How did we miss this?" Lisbon demanded as she looked at the donation site _Helping the Homeless_. There was a small and slightly obscure picture in the top left corner. Next to it was the words _Founder: Richie L. Rich_ and the guy looked strangely like Richard Junes…with a moustache, some wrinkles and very jelled down hair. The image was a little fuzzy as well but there was still a resemblance.

"So, he was running a scam?" Cho more stated than asked.

"See if you can get his bank records." Lisbon told him.

"I already did." Van Pelt turned to look at Lisbon. "I didn't see anything suspicious."

"Does he own lots of properties?" Jane asked.

"A few." Van Pelt shrugged. "But he is specializing in real-estate and he's from a rich family as it is. Why?"

"Well, sometimes criminals will put their money in bonds or properties in order to keep the cops off their trail." Jane told her.

"How is that track on his cell phone coming?" Lisbon asked Van Pelt.

Van Pelt looked at her screen and in a moment the machine beeped as an address popped up on the screen. "Got it." She called over her shoulder. "316 Windsor Avenue, Apartment 199."

Lisbon gasped.

"What?" Van Pelt turned around as the team looked at their leader, worriedly.

"That's Bethany's address. Melody is there." Lisbon felt a lump of dread in her throat and the entire team looked at each other with the same sense of urgency.

"Suit up." Lisbon told them in a quiet but stern voice. "If he doesn't know we're onto him maybe we can bring him in quietly."

The team nodded and hurried to get their bullet-proof vests, guns and ready to bring Richard Junes in.

Bethany was upstairs getting ready to tuck Melody in for her early afternoon nap when Richard saw some dark coloured vehicles. His heart skipped a beat. Were they on to him? Had they found him? He sat back and watched out the window as a curly haired blond man got out of the passenger side of one of the vehicles and cheerily strode up to the house. When the doorbell rang Richard got up and answered it. "Hi." he said, opening the door. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Patrick Jane." the blond man replied. "I'm just here to pick up Melody for my girlfriend." He was aware that Lisbon was listening on the other end of the wire and could just picture her glare.

"Bethany just put her down for a nap." Richard told him.

"That's alright. I'll just carry her out to the car. Melody's cousin is stopping by and Melody really wanted to see her." Jane lied expertly.

"I don't know if I'd be comfortable giving her to you. I've never met you. Does Bethany know you?"

"Uh, I don't know if Teresa ever introduced us." Jane shook his head. "But Melody will recognize me, for sure."

"Well she's asleep."

"Can't you wake her up for a minute?" Jane smiled.

"No. Your girlfriend should come pick her up. Good bye." And with that, Richard shut the door in Jane's face.

Jane stood for a moment and blinked a few times, bewildered, before he turned and headed back to the dark SUV. "Well that was rude of him." Jane said to Lisbon as he got in and closed the door. "Why didn't you go?"

"He knows I'm a cop." Lisbon grumbled and rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so sour, Lisbon." Jane patted her shoulder. "We can still get her out of there."

"You're right." Lisbon took a deep breath. "We don't even know for sure he's the killer."

"Uuuhhh…well, I think he might be." Jane said, cautiously.

"No. We don't know for sure." Lisbon said stubbornly. "Because that would mean the Melody is in danger. She's fine." Lisbon's phone rang and Lisbon put it on speaker.

"What do we do now, boss?" Van Pelt asked.

"See if Cho and Rigsby can get him to come quietly." Lisbon replied.

"Alright." and Van Pelt hung up.

"Melody is okay." Jane tried to reassure Lisbon as they waited and watched as Rigsby and Cho made their way to the front door.

"I hope she stays that way." Lisbon mumbled.

When Cho and Rigsby knocked, the door wasn't opened. A second time and Bethany answered.

"Hi. Sorry, I'm babysitting and was just getting the little girl to take a nap." Bethany said, opening the door. "Who are you?"

"Ma'am." Cho replied. "We're here with the CBI-" he showed his badge, "we're looking for Richard Junes."

"Yeah. He just went to the bathroom." Bethany stepped aside and let the agents in. Come in, I-"

"Leave!" Richard made his way down the stairs, pointing a gun at the two agents.

Cho and Rigsby pulled out their guns, ready to return fire if needed.

Bethany let out a scream and pressed herself against the wall.

"Drop the gun!" Rigsby yelled at Richard.

"No." Richard shot back. "I think _you_ should drop it." He reached the bottom of the stairs, picking up his captive, holding her to his chest and placing his gun to her head. "Unless you really like funerals."

"Let the girl go." Cho said calmly.

Melody had her eyes squeezed shut and her hands securely pressed to her ears, trying to will the whole situation away like it was a bad dream.

"We'll lower our weapons if you let her go." Rigsby tried to negotiate.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Richard spat.

"Well we didn't even know for sure you were guilty when we got here. Now you've shown us you are." Cho replied flatly. "Thanks."

"Leave or I'll kill her!" Richard roared. "_Now_. Bethany, lock the door behind them or I'll kill you, too!" He fired two warning shots into the floor near Bethany and she screamed.

Melody flinched and a yelp in reaction to the shot as well.

Cho and Rigsby barely flinched, hoping they could find an opening to take him out that wouldn't involve Melody getting stuck in the crossfire. Too late for that, though, probably.

Seeing that neither Cho or Rigsby were going to back down easily, Richard used the handle of his gun and hit Melody in the side of the ribs. This caused the young girl to let out a pained cry and she began to sob.

"Leave!"

Reluctantly, Cho and Rigsby backed away and out the door.

"What are you _doing_!?" Lisbon yelled at them, running to the door with Van Pelt, their guns drawn.

"He's taken them hostage." Rigsby replied, angrily.

Lisbon and Van Pelt looked at the door as if it had betrayed them.

"You didn't try to shoot him?" Van Pelt asked.

"He used Melody as a shield." Cho explained.

For a moment, everything was silent to Lisbon. Her third day babysitting and her niece was taken hostage. A very odd mix of anger and sadness washed over Lisbon, she was caught between wanting to cry and wanting to break down the door.

"Boss?" Van Pelt asked worriedly, and judging by her tone it was probably the second or third time she had said it.

"Y-yeah." Lisbon croaked out, blinking away the tears of frustration and sadness and bringing herself back to the task at hand. "Call SWAT, Sac P.D. and our media liaison. We need to try and establish a line of communication as well. This doesn't have to end violently." She added the last part more to assure herself than anything and headed back to the SUV. Standing at the front door wouldn't help.

Van Pelt pulled out her phone and started making the calls. It wasn't too long before they had a sharp-shooter, ambulance and more reporters than they wanted here. When everything was set up, they called Richard's cell phone.

"Get those people out of here!" Richard demanded when he picked up the phone.

"They can't leave until Melody and Bethany are out of there safely." Jane replied. Next to him, Lisbon was staring at the speaker with and upset and determined look on her face, her lips pursed together, probably trying not to lose her control and yell. He reached over and gave Lisbon's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. She didn't react.

"Well, in exchange for their safe return I want to be booked on the next flight to Mexico and for you all to drop this stupidity." Richard said calmly.

"Stupidity?" Jane asked. "You killed your supposed 'best friend' and you think this is all 'stupidity'."

"Obviously he _wasn't_ my best friend after all." Richard shot back. "He was going to sell me out! Friends don't do that!"

"So he found out about your little side business, pretending to help the homeless, and threatened to tell the cops." Jane said. "I'm sure that if you just come outside quietly and let those two go, the police will understand everything. Listen to me, Richard. Listen to the sound of my voice-"

"I'm done listening!" Richard interrupted. "Get me what I want within the hour or these two will die!" The phone clicked off.

Jane glanced over at Lisbon who looked like she was about to be sick. "He won't kill them." Jane whispered to her in reassurance. "Dead bodies are useless to him. If he kills them, he's done and has no chance of getting what he wants. He'll keep them alive."

"Yeah. Okay." Lisbon mumbled.

"Jane." Cho said and gestured for Jane to step closer to him.

With another concerned glance at Lisbon, he went over to Cho.

Lisbon kept looking at the speaker as it was going to give her the method that she would need to get Melody and Bethany out of being hostages. She was struck with an idea and looked over to see that no one was really paying attention to her. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath and pushed the redial button.

"So, you decided to give me what I want?" Richard asked, triumphantly.

"No." Lisbon told him. "I have a deal. You need to take a better hostage. A cop hostage. Let those two go and take a cop."

"Lisbon, what are you doing?" Jane called, hurrying over.

"Where am I going to get a cop?" Richard asked. Lisbon heard a muffled voice but Richard yelled over it.

"Me." Lisbon told him.

"No." Jane interjected sternly. "Don't-"

Lisbon slapped a hand over Jane's mouth and continued talking quickly. "I'll put aside my weapon and come in, then you let them go."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Richard sounded skeptical.

"This will go nowhere unless you get the leverage of a cop hostage." Lisbon was still wrestling to keep Jane's protests to muffled grunts.

"Alright but anything fancy and one of them is going to die." Richard warned.

"No!" Jane yelled as the phone line went dead. "Why would you do that?" Jane looked at Lisbon. She was the rational one. The reliably predictable one.

"Well sitting around out her playing negotiator wasn't working." Lisbon grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Van Pelt hurried over.

"She's swapping herself in as a hostage!" Jane said , exasperated. "She won't listen to me. You try and talk some sense into her!"

"What!?" Van Pelt looked wide eyed at Lisbon who had already taken her gun off her hip and placed it on a nearby table. "No. Boss. You can't!"

"I _can_." Lisbon told Van Pelt as she took off her bullet-proof vest. "And I _will_."

"No. You _won't_." Jane insisted.

"Oh, and you're going to stop me?"

"I-I'll go in instead." Jane suggested.

"What?" Lisbon almost laughed. He hated guns. Why would he seriously volunteer? "Why would _you,_ of all people, want to go in?"

"So that you don't!" Jane blurted, which got Lisbon to look at him in surprise. "'Cause I would be more likely to talk him out of it." Jane tried to add.

"Yeah, right." Lisbon rolled her eyes as she placed the bullet-proof vest to the side.

"Boss." Cho said as he and Rigsby approached with Van Pelt who had filled them in. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"See!?" Jane looked at Lisbon, exasperated. "Even Cho thinks that it's a bad idea."

The look on Lisbon's face clearly showed her frustration with them.

"I'll go in instead." Jane offered.

"What good would you do?" Lisbon protested.

"I was a hostage once before. I talked the guy out of it then. I can talk Richard out of this now."

"That was different. He wasn't an actual murderer." Lisbon glared at Jane.

"I think Jane going in is a better idea." Cho stated. "You need to stay out here and give the orders. You're in charge. You can't go in."

Lisbon gritted her teeth and looked at Jane. "Fine. But you need to give a signal when it's a good time for us to go in. Get him into a different room or disarm him or whatever, but then we need a signal that we can go in."

"I'll go get that set up." Rigsby told them as he headed off to talk to the other policemen.

Jane knocked on the door, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Despite his act, he was very nervous. The door was opened with a series of locks clicking into place and the turn of the knob. It was opened just enough to let him step through and then quickly closed and locked behind him. Jane's heart clenched in his chest when Richard turned around and he say the criminals hostage with her eyes squeezed closed and quietly sobbing. Richard still had a gun at her side.

"Okay." Jane said calmly, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm here. you can let them go now. That was the deal, yes?"

Melody opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him, silently pleading for help. There was a bruise forming under her left eye.

"Show me you're not unarmed." Richard demanded.

"Well, I'm not really a gun kind of person." Jane mumbled and shrugged casually.

"Show me!" Richard snapped, pushing the gun to Melody's temple and she yelled, squeezing her eyes shut again.

"Okay, okay. Stay cool. No need to do anything rash." Jane began to turn his pockets to show Richard that they were all empty. The panic button the officers had given him was clipped to the inside of his shirt sleeve.

When Richard was satisfied with Jane's display to prove he was unarmed, he led the consultant up to where he had left Bethany.

"Patrick." Melody whispered, her voice wavering as she looked up at the CBI consultant.

"_Be quiet_!" Richard hissed, poking her with the gun.

Melody covered her face with her hands and began to cry again.

"Aw, come on. Look at her. Lay off with the gun, would you?" Jane asked in the most casual voice he could muster.

"Did I ask you?" Richard pointed the gun at Jane.

Jane shook his head and raised his hands again.

Richard opened the door to one of the bedrooms. "Get up." he instructed Bethany, pointing the gun at her.

Bethany slowly got up from her place in the corner. She too had some bruises and tear stains on her cheeks.

"Come here." Richard said and Bethany complied, glancing at Jane. Richard handed Melody over to Bethany to clung to the small girl. "Go."

Bethany looked up at Richard surprised, then over to Jane.

Jane nodded and gestured with his head at the door.

Cautiously, Bethany made her way to the door worried that if she moved too fast Richard would shoot. She moved faster once she got to the stairs.

When Jane couldn't see Bethany from the room, he subtly reached into his jacket sleeve and pushed the panic button. The rest happened very quickly. SWAT and the CBI rushed into the room and somehow taking Richard down without even scratching him, and then ushering him out back to where the other SWAT members were.

"Check on Melody and Bethany!" Jane heard Lisbon shout over her shoulder as she cuffed Richard.

Outside, Jane looked around the crowd of hurrying people and located Bethany and Melody by one of the ambulances. He rushed over. Melody was furiously trying to fight off the paramedics and even Bethany who was trying to keep her still.

"No!" Melody yelled. "Where's Teresa!?"

"Teresa is on her way." Jane told her which got her to stop struggling, but she was still panting.

"Come on, sweetie. We gotta get you to the hospital." The paramedic tried to lift her into the ambulance, which sent Melody into another fit of hysterics.

"Melody." Jane said, trying to catch the girls flailing arms. "Melody. Teresa will be at the hospital to see you. She's okay. We need to go."

Melody slowly resigned to the unwanted hospital visit.

The paramedics got her in the ambulance, got her to lay down and Jane climbed in to sit near her.

"Sir. Family only." the male paramedic told Jane as the other medic began to examine Melody.

"She's my daughter." Jane replied, sounding offended.

"Oh. Um, okay then." The paramedic nodded, surprised since she looked nothing like him.

"She looks like her mother." Jane added as he sat back down and let the paramedics work for the ride to the hospital.

* * *

**Please review and let me know what you think.**


	5. Surprises

**Author's Note: Hello again everybody! Chapter five! Yay! So, bL00D pRINC3SS, there's no need to take anybody hostage at gunpoint. Haha. Thanks again to you all once again for all the awesome comments! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as well! I know that I enjoyed writing it. =3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist(sadly).**

* * *

Lisbon was frustrated with all the paperwork that she was trying to rush through and trying to blow off as many questions as she could from everyone else. She had sent Rigsby, Van Pelt and Cho to go check up with Jane at the hospital and she really wanted to be there too. She had to make sure Melody was alright. It had been at least two hours since they arrested Richard Junes for murder, resisting arrest and assault with a deadly weapon on two accounts. Lisbon glanced at the clock and it told her it was almost three. That was _it_. Lisbon finished the form she was working on and filed it away. Everything else could wait now. She had more important things to worry about. Lisbon grabbed Sir Stitch-a-Lot off the chair in her office, she had retrieved him from Bethany's place after they sent Richard Junes off in cuffs. Poor Sir Stitch-a-Lot was forgotten in all the commotion and Lisbon knew that when Melody realised he was missing she would be very upset. Flinging Sir Stitch-a-Lot over her shoulder, Lisbon made her way out of the CBI building and rushed to the hospital.

After showing her ID to the front desk and getting Melody's room number, Lisbon made her way up to see her niece. In the hallway she passed Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt. The red-haired agent informed Lisbon that Bethany was fine, she was going to stay with a friend and that she said she was sorry.

"Okay. It's not her fault, though." Lisbon said.

"That's what I told her." Van Pelt nodded. "Anyway. Melody is a little bruised, otherwise fine. She's in her room with Jane. We're going to get everyone something to eat from the cafeteria. You want something?"

"No thank you." Lisbon quickly replied and made her way to Melody's room. As she neared the room, she could see Melody and Jane through the window. Melody had a bruise under her left eye and her bottom lip was a little swollen. Jane and Melody are sitting on the hospital bed, one of Melody's arms extended palm up to show a dark blue and red band-aid on the bottom of her thumb.

"My spide-y senses are tingling." Lisbon heard Melody say as she opened the boor.

"I hope that means something good." Lisbon said lightly as she shut the door behind her.

"Teresa!" Melody tried to jump up but the soreness in her body didn't let her get far. She closed her eyes, trying not to cry. She didn't want Teresa to be sad, too. Her breath began to quicken again.

"Slowly." Jane told her, putting a gentle hand on her head. "Breath slowly. In."

Melody took a deep breath in.

"Out."

Melody exhaled and then opened her eyes, blinking a few times.

Lisbon put Sir Stitch-a-Lot at the end of the bed before giving Melody a cautious hug. She didn't know where else Melody might have been injured.

"Look." Melody said when she broke the embrace. Melody held out her hand to show Lisbon the Spider-Man band-aid the nurses had given her. "Millie-the nurse told me I could have Spider-Man or Cinderella. I said Spider-Man because he can swing from buildings and do whatever a spider can."

"Wow. That's very cool." Lisbon told her enthusiastically.

Melody smiled and looked back at her band-aid.

The rest of the team returned with the food and handed it out. Melody got a small carton of skimmed milk and a triple chocolate cookie, Jane got tea and even though Lisbon had said she didn't want anything, Van Pelt got her a doughnut.

"Teresa." Melody whispered, patting Lisbon's arm lightly.

"Yes?" Lisbon nodded.

"You closed the case, right?"

"Yes."

"Does that mean we all get pizza?"

Lisbon just looked at Melody for a moment.

"Patrick said when you close a case you all get pizza. I like pizza." Melody looked up at her aunt and then took a sip of milk.

"Do you want pizza?" Lisbon asked.

Melody nodded.

Lisbon turned to look at the rest of her team. "Anyone up for some case closed pizza later?"

There was a moment of silence before Van Pelt answered cheerfully. "Of course. We can't skip case closed pizza." She had helped tell Melody about the case closed pizza. She couldn't just blatantly turn it down now.

"Why mess with a good thing?" Rigsby smiled.

"You just like food." Van Pelt rolled her eyes.

"Alright." Cho agreed. He wasn't going to get left out of good pizza.

Lisbon turned to look at Jane expectantly.

"Well of course I'm going to be there, Lisbon." Jane scoffed. "I'm wherever you are. You're my ride."

"That was almost a sweet statement." Lisbon sighed.

Melody smiled and clapped. She was going to get case closed pizza!

"Later, though." Lisbon told her. "You need to rest now. For dinner, I promise."

"Okay." Melody said as she let Lisbon take her now empty milk carton and help her lie down on the pillow.

"The bullpen?" Lisbon asked her team. "About six?"

They all agreed and said goodbye before leaving.

Lisbon ran her fingers through Melody's hair and within seconds the young girl's eyes closing, she was fast asleep.

"Ah. That's right." Jane said like he remembered something and got up off the bed and placed his tea on the bedside stand.

"What?" Lisbon looked at him questioningly.

"I have a surprise for _you_." Jane pointed at her like she was the audience at some cheesy infomercial.

She gave him a look that clearly told him that she wasn't impressed yet.

"Okay, okay. Tough crowd." Jane leaned behind the beside stand and then turned back around to present the object to Lisbon.

"Jane." Lisbon gasped in a quiet voice. "You got a car seat for Melody?"

"Well…it was really for you so that you didn't worry so much about not having one." Jane placed the item on the floor beside him. "But yeah. You could see it as for Melody."

"Thank you." Lisbon got up and gave him a hug, which surprised him but he returned it anyway. They stayed in that position for a while, both content.

"Ahem." someone cleared their throat.

Jane and Lisbon looked over to see a woman with dark blond hair that was pulled into a messy bun wearing scrubs and a white lab coat standing just inside the door.

"May I speak with you?" the woman asked.

"Darling. Why don't you go talk to the doctor. I'll stay here with our little one." Jane said to Lisbon.

Lisbon turned to look at him, surprised and confused. _Darling_? _Our_ little one?

"Yes. Alright. I'll be right back." Lisbon decided to play along, promising herself she would make Jane explain after as she followed the doctor out of the room.

"Hi. I'm Doctor Sandy Fallon." the woman said as she closed the door.

"Teresa Lisbon." Lisbon introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you." The doctor smiled and opened the file she had been carrying. "Now, Mrs. Lisbon."

_Mrs._? Lisbon thought, grudgingly. What did Jane tell them!?

"Melody has some bruising on her face and the right side of her ribs. She also got a scratch on her left hand that was from, ahem, fighting off the paramedics-" the information seemed to amuse Doctor Fallon as a small smile appeared on her lips "-but that's nothing to worry about. We did an MRI and some X-rays. They didn't show any sign of internal bleeding or injury so that's good. We've given her some pain medication for now but when you take her home, children's Advil or Tylenol will be fine. Make sure she doesn't get put through lots of excitement these next few days. No amusement parks or sports. Her body has been stressed and she needs lots of rest for now. She can function and everything, just don't let her do strenuous activities. Plenty of bed rest and food and she should be back to normal by Saturday-or Sunday. She may also get sick within the next few days as a method her body might use to deal with the stress, just so you're not worried if she gets sick. Um, if she has fainting spells, feels really dizzy for long periods of time or is unable to move due to weakness bring her back. That should be it. You can take her home when you want to. Either you or your husband"-_husband!?_-"can sign the release papers to take her."

"Thank you." Lisbon said, smiling politely as she decided whether to smack, kick or punch Jane first.

"I'm sure you'll take good care of her. She's cute." the doctor nodded and walked away.

Lisbon waited a moment and mustered up as much calm as possible before walking back into the room.

"How did it go?" Jane asked innocently, getting off the bed and walking over to her.

"What the _hell_ did you tell them!?" Lisbon hissed in a low voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Cut the crap. They think we're _married_?"

"Ah. Yes. That." Jane looked at Lisbon who was glaring at him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Well. I might have told them that I was her father…"

Lisbon bit back the urge to scream at him. "Why?" she spat out. "Why would you do that?"

"Well, one"-Jane held up a finger-"she's cute." Then he playfully added, "total chick magnet."

Lisbon was not enthusiastic at all about reason number one and it showed.

"And two." Jane quickly continued. "Two, the paramedics went all 'family only in the ambulance' so I had to think of something."

"You could have told them you were a family friend." Lisbon seethed.

Jane scoffed. "What's the fun in that?"

"And then you just continued to lie and say that I am her mother?"

"Well, now that. That had nothing to do what I told them."

Lisbon raised a brow.

"Okay. So I may have helped the thought along but it really isn't a hard thing to get people to believe. She looks exactly like you."

"So how did you convince them she was yours? You don't even have the same last name."

"I told them my name was Patrick. I told them her name was Melody Lisbon. They assumed my last name was Lisbon as well because I already told them I was her father."

"She looks nothing like you." Lisbon repeated.

"I told them she looked like you. She does too. That wasn't even a lie. You can't even hit me for that one."

"Oh, can't I?" Lisbon retorted. She looked over at Melody and sighed irritably. "I'm going to go sign the papers to take her home. _You_ don't talk to anyone else. Bring the car seat. Please." Lisbon grabbed Sir Stitch-a-Lot, scooped the sleeping Melody up and left the room while Jane picked up the car seat and followed. It didn't take long for Lisbon to sign the papers and then they were on their way out to the parking lot. Lisbon unlocked the car and waited as Jane installed the car seat…with some difficulty.

"Ow." Jane grumbled as he hit his head on the top of the car door while standing up again.

"You alright?" Lisbon smirked. That's what he gets for lying to people.

"Yeah." Jane stood up, rubbing his head a bit. "Didn't hit it that hard."

"Well if you did, we're at a hospital so you could get it checked out."

"Oh, Lisbon. You touch my heart with your concern."

"I know." Lisbon smiled. "What kind of person would I be if I wasn't concerned for my loving husband. Wait. I don't have one."

"Now, Lisbon. That hurts. How can you ignore our completely illegitimate marriage that hasn't happened yet? I thought I was the ideal illegitimate husband." Jane feigned sadness.

"Oh, right. _That_ marriage." Lisbon replied sarcastically, smiling. "Just put Melody in the car seat and lets go home, please."

"Sounds good to me." Jane took Melody and strapped her in the car seat before closing the door and climbing into the front passenger seat.

Lisbon started the engine and left the hospital parking lot. The drive home started off comfortably silent but Jane turned on the radio and turned the volume down so that he could hear it but it wouldn't wake Melody. Lisbon didn't really listen to the radio, being so quiet, it wasn't hard to tune out. A few blocks away from Lisbon's place, something that was said on the radio seemed to catch Jane's attention. Lisbon was going to ask what he was listening to but decided against it. He was probably listening to some lame tidbit of information about couches, tea or something. What station was he even listening to? Lisbon pulled into her driveway and turned off the engine. She could still make out the yellow crime scene tape behind the bushes a few doors down where Bethany's place is and she felt her stomach do a little flop. She shook her head to try and clear it as she undid her seatbelt and got out of the car. Jane had already got Melody from the backseat and he followed her up the steps to her front door.

"Want me to take her?" Lisbon asked as she unlocked the door and they both stepped through.

"No, it's alright." Jane said, kicking off his shoes and heading upstairs to put Melody in the guest room.

Lisbon made sure the door was locked and headed into the kitchen to get something to eat. She was in the middle of making a peanut butter sandwich when Jane walked into the kitchen.

"She's still out like a cute little light." Jane chirped as he went to a cabinet to get some tea.

"Alright. I'll wake her up and get her changed at about 5:15 or 5:30." Lisbon gave him a weak smile as she screwed the lid of the peanut butter jar and went to sit at the table with a cup of water and her sandwich.

It was silent as Jane continued to make his tea. When it was done, he pulled one of the other table chairs up next to Lisbon's and put his tea on the table. "It's not your fault."

Lisbon didn't reply. She just stared down at her cup that was clasped in both her hands.

"Lisbon?" he tried again but she still didn't reply. Jane sighed, placing a hand on her arm. "Teresa." he said softly.

This time she turned to look at him, guilt written all over her face. There was a moment of silence that passed between them before Lisbon spoke. "Leave it, Jane. It's fine." Lisbon tried to pull her arm from Jane's grasp but he didn't let go.

"It's not fine." Jane told her. "You're blaming yourself and it's not your fault."

"How?" Lisbon snapped, looking back at Jane. "How isn't it my fault? I made her stay at Bethany's."

"How were you supposed to know that Bethany knew Richard? Or that Richard was crazy and willing to take people as hostages? Or even that he was going to react so violently? You couldn't. You did what you thought was best and we got them both back. Safe. Maybe a few bruises, but they're alive and their injuries are nothing serious."

Lisbon shook her head, placing her elbows on the table and leaning her forehead on her palms. "I shouldn't have agreed to babysitting her." she sniffled.

"I think that's going a bit far, Teresa. You shouldn't even be blaming yourself. You don't even have to be sad. She's fine."

"Whatever." Lisbon mumbled as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, trying to hide her face behind a veil of dark hair as she wiped at the falling tears.

"Aw, Lis-" Jane tried to lighten the mood and cheer her up.

"Don't." Lisbon quickly interrupted and Jane could hear the tears in her voice. No teasing. No jokes. Not now. She wasn't in the mood.

Jane quickly hushed and sat there for a moment. Then he scooted his chair closer to hers and pulled her over into a hug, patting her head gently.

It was just past five when Lisbon quietly entered the guest room and sat on the bed. "Melody." she whispered, gently shaking her niece. "Melody, it's time to wake up."

"Mnh." Melody mumbled squeezing her eyes closed tighter and trying to shove away Lisbon's hand. "No."

"But we're going to have case closed pizza." Lisbon whispered excitedly. "Just like I promised."

That caught Melody's attention. She peeked one eye open and looked at Lisbon. "Pizza?" she drawled sleepily.

"Yeah, pizza."

Melody gently rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Lisbon's cell phone went off and a glance at the caller ID told her it was Rigsby. "Hello." she answered.

"Hey." Rigsby said. "Just calling to see what you guys wanted on your pizza."

Lisbon moved her phone from her ear. "Melody? What do you want on your pizza?"

Melody stared up at the ceiling for a moment thinking. "Um…"

Lisbon held out the phone speaker closer to Melody so Rigsby could hear.

"Pepperoni. Sausage. Aaannnndddd…bacon." Melody answered, thoughtfully.

Lisbon put the phone back to her ear. "Got that?" she asked.

"Yep." Rigsby answered. "See you at six, boss."

"Bye." then Lisbon hung up. "Alright, Melody. Lets get you up and changed, shall we?"

Melody sat up slowly and carefully as Lisbon did her best to assist her. Lisbon then picked up Melody and gently placed her on the floor.

"Do you want to wear your pyjamas?" Lisbon asked.

Melody thought for a moment and nodded, so Lisbon went and grabbed Melody's pyjamas off the guest room dresser. Melody wiggled out of the baggy t-shirt the hospital had given her to wear and held up her arms so Lisbon could pull the pyjama shirt over her head.

Lisbon unfolded the shirt and was about to pull it over Melody's head when she looked down and saw the dark purple and blue bruise that was forming on the right side of Melody's ribs. Lisbon's heart squeezed in her chest and she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

Melody followed Lisbon's gaze to her bruise then turned so that her aunt couldn't see it. "It…it doesn't hurt." she said, trying to make Lisbon feel better.

Melody was obviously lying to her, but Lisbon didn't feel that it was a good time to call Melody out on it. "Oh. It doesn't?" she said. "That's good. But if it really starts to hurt you tell me, okay?"

Melody nodded and held her arms back up again and Lisbon slid the shirt on. Lisbon then handed Melody the shorts and she changed herself as Lisbon grabbed some socks to put on Melody's feet. When Melody was completely changed, Lisbon carried her downstairs and to the front door where they all put their shoes on and left.

"Hey, guys." Van Pelt greeted as they entered the bullpen.

"Hi." Melody waved as Lisbon put her down. She ran over and Van Pelt gave her a hug.

"Hey." Cho nodded at them.

"How are you feeling?" Van Pelt asked Melody.

"I'm okay." Melody smiled. "Where's Batman?"

"He's going to get the pizza. He should be back soon." Van Pelt explained then looked at the others and teasingly added, "if he doesn't eat it all before he gets here."

Lisbon chuckled and pulled up a chair to the desk where she knew that the pizza was going to be put. Cho already had his chair set up. Jane had gone and sat on his couch, listening to the radio on a low volume. Seriously! What's he listening to!? Lisbon seriously doubted it was a news segment on tea and three-pieced suits.

"Pizza's here!" Rigsby announced walking in carrying the boxes and drawing everyone's attention.

"Yay!" Melody clapped and hurried over and stood next to Lisbon's chair. Lisbon picked up Melody and placed the girl on her lap as Rigsby passed out the plates and everyone gathered around. Melody got the first slice of her pizza and she chewed happily as did everyone else.

Rigsby was well into his third piece before anyone had started their second. Suddenly Jane brought over the little radio he had been listening to before and turned the volume up so everyone could hear it.

"Jane, what the hell are y-" Lisbon started.

"Sh!" Jane held up a finger to silence her and quickly pulled out his phone, dialling a number. "Damn." he mumbled and ended the call then redialled. That happened once more before-

"Hello!" the radio host said. "You are our lucky eighth caller! What's your name?"

"Patrick." the consultant answered as his voice echoed over the radio.

Everyone looked at him confused.

Lisbon then sighed and tilted her head back. What was he up to _this_ time?

"Hello, Patrick." the host said happily. "Are you ready to answer the question to win tickets for you and seven friends and family to Disneyland in California?"

Lisbon was thoroughly surprised.

"Yes, I am." Jane replied confidently.

"Alright. Here it is. You have sixty seconds to answer. From the Little Mermaid movies, what was the name of Ariel's mother?" The Jeopardy-themed music began to play.

Jane looked over at Melody. He hadn't seen all the Little Mermaid movies.

"Athena." Melody answered. "The Greek goddess."

"Athena." Jane repeated into the phone.

The sound of a winning bell rang out over the radio speakers which Melody accompanied with enthusiastic clapping and cheering. "You're right!" the host announced. "Congratulations! You've won a weeks stay at the Walt Disney Resort in California for you and seven others! Did I hear a little one in the background?"

"Yeah. That would be Melody." Jane smiled cheekily as Van Pelt, Rigsby and Cho all tried to hide their amusement, Lisbon was contemplating ways to make Jane pay for this and Melody listened intently completely oblivious to what Jane actually meant by, "The little one."

"Aw, that's very sweet." The host chuckled. "Now tell us, what's the radio station sending you to Disneyland?"

Jane pulled the phone from his ear and whispered the name of the radio station into Melody's ear then held the phone up to her.

"108.7 Awesome FM." Melody told the host and her voice repeated over the radio speakers.

"Have fun at Disneyland." the host said to her.

"I will!" Melody told him then Jane put the phone back to his ear and turned off the radio, going to his desk and actually use it for once. Even if it was only to write down the trip information on a scrap sheet of paper. That was really the closest he'd ever come to using it. Melody leaned back against her aunt and tilted her head upward, smiling. "We're going to Disneyland!"

Lisbon looked down at her and smiled. "Yeah. That's very exciting!"

Melody giggled and went back to finishing her slice of pizza.

"Well, I think it has been an overall productive day." Jane smiled, rejoining the group folding up the paper he'd written the information on and putting it in his jacket pocket.

"Who else are you taking with you?" Van Pelt asked.

Jane gave her a quizzical look. "I thought it was obvious."

"Well, Melody and Lisbon are going, obviously." Van Pelt replied. "Melody answered the question so technically _she_ won. And you can't take Melody without Lisbon. That's five spots left."

"I'm taking all of you. Who else would I take?"

"Seriously?" Cho asked slight surprise weaving into his usual stoic demeanour.

"Well now, Cho, you don't have to sound so excited about it." Jane teased.

"Really, Jane?" Van Pelt grinned. "Thank you!"

"Oh." Jane pointed at Rigsby. "I do believe even if you three go, there's still two spots left. Benjamin and Sarah are welcome as well."

"Aw, gee. Thanks, man." Rigsby smiled. "Sarah's going to be excited."

"When is this trip?" Lisbon asked.

"In two weeks." Jane replied.

"So...we all have to fill out more forms for extra vacation time?" Lisbon asked him.

"Well, how hard are those forms to fill out anyway?" Jane shrugged. "I'm sure a few forms are worth a week at Disneyland."

"Well you can fill out my forms for me then." Lisbon mumbled under her breath as she stacked her and Melody's empty plates, placing them on the table.

"I'm sure Disneyland will take the grumpy right out of you." Jane placed a hand on Lisbon's shoulder.

"And then I'll come back to work and you'll make me grumpy aalll over again." Lisbon shot back.

"Ouch, Lisbon! That really hurts my feelings. You know, I don't think I can handle this abusive relationship anymore. As your illegitimate husband, I have the rights to get an illegitimate divorce. Maybe that's what I'll do if you don't start being nicer to me."

"I'd like to see you illegitimately try." Lisbon retorted.

"Oh, I will then." Jane raised a brow.

"Fine." Lisbon shrugged.

"Fine." Jane threw his hands in the air and winked as he grabbed some of the dirty dishes and headed to the kitchenette.

Lisbon huffed and the rest of the team tried not to laugh. They all cleaned up and split the left over pizza before they all said their good nights and headed home.

When they finally got back home Lisbon was relieved. It had been a long, crazy day and all she wanted was to go to sleep. Jane kicked off his shoes and went to put their share of the left over pizza in the fridge as Lisbon helped Melody with her shoes.

"Lets go get your teeth brushed and get you to sleep." Lisbon said to Melody as the pair headed upstairs.

"Will you read me a bedtime story?" Melody asked as Lisbon escorted her to the guest room after brushing her teeth.

"Sure. Just let me get into my pyjamas as well. How about you pick out a story while you wait." Lisbon told her.

"Okay." Melody nodded and went over to her suitcase, looking for a story.

Lisbon grabbed her pyjamas from her room and then headed back to the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. On her way out of the bathroom she ran into Jane.

"Going to bed so soon?" Jane asked.

"Well first I'm going to read Melody a bedtime story." Lisbon told him.

"Ah, a bedtime story." Jane smiled. "That sounds like fun. What are we going to read her?"

"We?" Lisbon raised a brow. "You mean _me_."

Jane looked at her with feigned hurt and surprise. "It cuts me deeply to think that you would leave me out of a good bedtime story. I mean I-I could cry."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Fine. You can join us, just hurry up." With that, she went to her room to throw her clothes in the laundry hamper and went back to the guest room. She found Melody sitting on the bed with a book. Melody held the book out to her and Lisbon took it, sitting down next to Melody and leaning against the headboard. On the cover there was a picture of two monkeys, one was wearing a tie while the other seemed to have nice eyelashes and wore a green and white polka dotted bow on one ear. Across the top of the cover was the title _Macy and Martin's Jungle Adventures_. Lisbon bit her lip at the mental image of James going into a book store and buying it. She was still admiring the book's cover when Jane walked in.

"Alright." he clapped his hands together then rubbed them eagerly. "Bedtime story. Lots of fun. What are we reading?"

"Macy and Martin's Jungle Adventures." Lisbon told him, holding up the book.

"Sounds like a good read." Jane climbed on the bed, sat to the other side of Melody and settled against the headboard.

Lisbon opened the book and started to read. Lisbon was the narrator and then made her voice higher pitched to voice Macy while Jane deepened his voice to speak for Martin. Their storytelling had Melody giggling the whole way through but her eyes were still droopy by the end of the story as Lisbon closed the book. Jane climbed off the bed and Lisbon helped Melody settle in. Both adults tucked the blankets around Melody and she smiled.

"Goodnight, Melody." Lisbon kissed the girl on the head.

"Goodnight, Teresa."

"Goodnight, Melody." Patrick also kissed her on the head.

"Goodnight, Patrick."

Lisbon and Jane left the room quietly, turning off the light and shutting the door.

"And you were going to exclude me from story time." Jane scoffed quietly.

"Hush, you." Lisbon told him. "Go sleep on the couch."

"Am I in trouble now?" Jane asked. "My fake wife won't let me share her bed."

"Jeez, Jane." Lisbon shook her head and went to her room, gently shutting the door behind her.

Jane shrugged and went downstairs.

-  
Melody was woken at about midnight by the thunderstorm that had started. She opened her eyes and flinched slightly at the sound of the thunder. Usually thunderstorms didn't bother her, her father explained that it was just angels bowling at a disco party. The thunder was the bowling balls and the lightning was the flashing lights. The rain was just confetti. However, now the thunder reminded her of gunshots and that made the shadows cast by the lightning seem menacing and scary. Another boom of thunder had Melody whimpering and snuggling closer into her pillow, pulling the blankets closer around her. There was another flash of lightening and Melody squeezed her eyes closed trying to think of something nice, trying to will away her fear. She heard footsteps in the hall and her breath caught in her throat. Then there was the sound of a door shutting and shuffling. It took Melody a few minutes but she gathered up the courage to go check it out. She wrestled her way out of the blankets, slid off the bed and made her way to the room door. Carefully she opened the door and peeked into the empty hallway, the bathroom door was closed with the faint light of the nightlight shining through the bottom. She stepped carefully into the hallway, her eyes never moving from the bathroom door and froze when the bathroom door handle turned. As the door opened there was a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning and a big shadowy figure stepped out. Melody screamed, bolting across the hallway and bounding into Lisbon's room crying as she jumped and scrambled onto the bed.  
"What!?" Lisbon exclaimed, Melody's screaming had woken her up and she was halfway to getting out of bed as Melody scrambled on.  
Melody wrapped her arms around Lisbon's waist. "He came back!" She cried. "He's going to hurt me again, Teresa! Help me!"  
"Who?" Lisbon asked looking around wildly, but the only other person she saw was Jane standing in the doorway looking confused and worried.  
"Richie!" Melody continued to cry.  
"He can't hurt you, Melody." Lisbon breathed a bit easier. She'd just had a bad dream. "We sent him away. He's not going to come back. You're safe." Lisbon rubbed Melody's back soothingly.  
"I saw him!" Melody protested. "In the hallway!"  
Lisbon thought for a moment then looked up at Jane who hadn't moved. "Melody." Lisbon gently unwrapped the little girls arms from her waist and got her to sit on her lap. "That wasn't Richard you saw. It was Patrick."

Melody was calming down slightly. "But the lightning. And the thunder. It was scary."

"I'm sure it was." Lisbon rubbed Melody's arm. "It's alright, though."

Jane walked over and knelt in front of Melody. "I'm sorry." he said, tucked some of her mused hair behind her ear. "I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"

Melody nodded, wiping at her tears. "It's okay. It was an accident. I'm fine."

"We should get you back to bed." Lisbon told her.

"No!" Melody yelled, clinging to Lisbon's shirt. "No. I don't want to be all by myself, Teresa. Don't make me be by myself. Can I sleep here?"

"That's a good idea." Jane said, climbing onto the bed and under the covers before Lisbon could say anything.

"I believe there's a perfectly good couch downstairs waiting for you." Lisbon blushed a bit.

"Meh." Jane shrugged. "Company is much better up here anyway."

Too tired to argue, Lisbon just huffed and let Melody crawl under the blankets as well. They all fell into a peaceful sleep, snuggled together with Melody in the middle. Not even the thunder storm spooked Melody again.

* * *

**Author's Note: So leave a comment and let me know what you think! And just a heads-up. Benjanim is going to be just over a year old in the fanfiction. I know in the show he's only two months, but there's not much a two month old can do so...a year old it is. Hurray for fanfiction! =P**


	6. Playing Doctor

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm really sorry that this one took so long to post. Thanks for sticking with me! It just wasn't as much of a productive writing time as I hoped it would be. And my first day to school was kind of a mini-disaster(:/). But I did get it written and I'm excited to see what you guys think.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist(or any of the movies and songs mentioned). *Sigh***

* * *

_It was a beautiful day and Lisbon actually got to spend it relaxing. The grass she was lying on was very soft and the sky was a beautiful blue and speckled with a few white clouds. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, and then opened them to see Melody and Jane leaning over her and smiling. Jane was dressed in a white t-__shirt__ and jeans, while Melody was in shorts, a t-shirt and a purple sparkly dress-up tutu. Jane chuckled and held out a hand to help her up, which she accepted. Once she was standing, Melody said something that Lisbon didn't really hear her, but she looked down and saw the girl with her arms held up and hopping. Lisbon picked her up, holding her close as Jane held her close and she happily snuggled against him. There was a rumbling noise and everything shook slightly. They all held to each other nervously as there were a few more bouts of the rumbling and then the place slowly started to fade._

Lisbon slowly opened her eyes, surprised for a moment to see Melody and Jane before she remembered the previous night.

"Teresa?" Melody said, weakly and brought her hands up to cover her mouth as she coughed again. The four year old didn't look well. Her face was flushed of colour and her breathing was uneven. "Teresa. I don't feel good."

Lisbon put a hand to the young girl's forehead. Melody was quite warm.

Jane sat up. "Should I get her something?"

Lisbon also sat up, cradling Melody in her arms. "Some food would be good. And…crap. I don't have children's Tylenol. Um. Could you run out to the store?"

"Yeah." Jane replied quickly. "What do we need?"

"I think I'm going to be sick." Melody squeaked.

Jane bolted over to grab the garbage can from the other side of the room and made it back just in time so that Melody wasn't sick all over the bed.

Lisbon pulled Melody's hair away from her face and Jane grabbed a tissue to wipe Melody's mouth and then discarded it in the trash can.

"We need children's medicine, some chicken noodle soup and children's bubble bath. Anything flower-scented." Lisbon answered Jane's question, cuddling her niece again.

"Alright." Jane locked away that list into his information palace as he placed the garbage back in its original corner. He then tied the handles of the plastic bag together and carried the bag out of the room, holding it away from himself. They were so lucky he loved them. He wouldn't do this for very many people. He unlocked the front door and went to the far left corner of the front yard. Tucked in the corner of the fence and the wall of the house there was a big plastic garbage can that Jane unscrewed the lid off of it and threw the bag in, screwing the lid securely back in place. When that was done Jane ran back inside to change and wash his hands. He didn't bother with his full suit. Jane just put one of his usual button-downs and the suit pants. There was no one at the grocery store or the pharmacy that he wanted to impress. Lisbon's car was blocking his so he just grabbed her keys and left. No point in calling her down and wasting time with switching the cars.

-Mentalist-

It wasn't too far of a drive to the grocery store/pharmacy and Jane was glad because he didn't understand how Lisbon could drive such an elaborate car. So many buttons! He shut the door and locked the car then hurried into the store.

"Okay." he thought to himself. "What to start with getting?" Jane ran through the list in his mind. Might as well start with the first thing that was said: _children's medicine_. Jane headed off in the direction of the pharmacy section.

Jane quickly made his way up and down the isles of health and care products, skimming them to find what he was looking for. He stopped finally in one isle. There were two products right next to each other. Children's Tylenol and children's Advil. Which was the one Lisbon had wanted? Then there was the one for cold and flu symptoms and one of each for headaches and fevers. Uh oh. She hadn't specified! He was so busy with his internal debate he didn't hear the person behind him.

"Mr. Lisbon?"

Jane continued to stand there and contemplate the excessive load of medicine choices. He was tapped on the shoulder, which brought him back to reality and he turned to face the person standing behind him.

"Mr. Lisbon, hi." the woman with red curly hair, freckles and brown eyes smiled.

"Ah. Millie." Jane finally returned. "Wow. I didn't expect to see you here. And please, call me Patrick."

"Me neither. And, alright. If that's what you prefer." Millie replied. "How's Melody doing?"

"Uh. She's…well she's not feeling so well today. She woke up coughing and breathing odd, then she threw up."

"Oh, the poor thing!" Millie gasped.

"Yeah. Teresa is really worried. We ran out of medicine for Melody and chicken noodle soup so I'm here to get some. But for the life of me, I can't think of which one of these would be best." Jane shook his head and sighed.

"Hm. She's probably sick from the stress that she was put through the other day, so it's probably not a cold or a flu. I would go with the fever and headache one." Millie suggested.

"Tylenol or Advil?"

"Either should probably work fine. Which do you and your wife prefer?"

"We…" Jane thought back to whenever Lisbon had, had a headache. Did she use Tylenol or Advil? Forget it. Advil was fine. "We usually use Advil." He grabbed the item off the shelf and put it in the basket he was carrying.

"Do you need anything else?" Millie inquired.

"Yep. Chicken noodle soup and children's bubble bath." The last request still didn't make much sense to him. "Wait._ Flower-scented_ children's bubble bath."

"Well that's not a very long list." Millie said, optimistically.

"No, it's not." Jane agreed.

"Would you like me to check her?" Millie asked.

"Huh?"

"Would you like me to take a look at Melody? Maybe it would settle your wife's worry a bit." Millie elaborated.

"Oh." Jane smiled. "Would you? That would be amazing! I'm sure Teresa would really appreciate that! I'll give her a call." Jane pulled out his phone and dialed Lisbon's number. It took a few rings but she finally picked up.

"What's wrong, Jane?" Lisbon asked.

"Hi, sweetie." Jane said.

"Hi." Lisbon said slowly, not quite sure what to make of his greeting.

"I'm just at the store getting the stuff we needed and bumped into Millie." Jane smiled at the woman next to him and she smiled back.

"Who?" Lisbon was confused. How was this relevant?

"Right. You never got to meet Millie. She was the nurse that gave Melody the Spider-Man band-aid." Jane then whispered over to Millie, "she was very proud of that band-aid."

Millie giggled. "I've never met a little girl that rather had Spider-Man over Cinderella."

"Oh, Melody is very special." Jane smiled.

"Okay." Lisbon said on the other line, still a little confused. "So you ran into Millie…and? Did she give you some advice or something?"

"Oh. Yes. Well, not advice, but Millie offered to come check up on Melody."

"That's a very nice offer-"

"I thought you would feel that way." Jane interrupted.

"You didn't convince her to do this did you?" Lisbon asked suspiciously.

"No. Don't worry, Teresa. Is Melody doing any better?" Jane inquired.

"I got her to lie down and she's not feeling as nauseous as before." Lisbon answered.

"That's good to hear. Millie and I will just get the other stuff and we'll be right there."

"Wait, Jane. If I find out you hypnotized her into doing-"

"Mhm. Yeah. Don't worry sweetheart." Jane said, not actually paying attention to what she was saying. "Love you, too, Teresa. Okay. Bye." and he hung up while she was trying to get him to listen. "Shall we?" Jane asked Millie, gesturing down the isle, indicating that they continue.

"Of course!" Millie nodded and they both continued to find the remaining items. "What's next?"

"Chicken noodle soup." They passed multiple isles before they found the one with a sign for soup. "Which do you think would be best?" Jane asked Millie as they stood in front of the soup shelf.

Millie scanned all the different labels, tapping her cheek with one of her finger while she thought. She picked a few off the shelf and read the ingredients carefully. "This looks like the best one." she said, putting the other cans back and holding up her choice.

"I trust your judgment." Jane held out the basket. "Put a few more in, just in case we want soup some other time."

Millie did as he asked and they made their way to grab some bubble bath. And then headed to the checkout. On the way to the cash register, Jane saw some cute rubber ducks and rubber frog toys that he threw in the basket as well.

"Do you have a family?" Jane asked, trying to make casual conversation while they waited in line for the register.

"No." Millie smiled and blushed a bit. "I'm engaged, though. My fiancé and I are getting married next year and I can't wait to start a family."

"That's very nice. I hope that you're both happy together and I'm sure you'll make a great mother."

"Thank you." Millie smiled brightly.

-Mentalist-

Jane pulled back into the driveway while Millie had to park on the side of the road since the driveway was full. Jane grabbed the bag of stuff from the back and made his way to the front door, waiting a moment for Millie. He unlocked and opened the door, allowing Millie to step through first. He shut and locked the door behind them as Lisbon came down the stairs.

"Hello." Lisbon said.

"Hi." Millie smiled, holding out her hand.

"I'm Teresa." Lisbon introduced herself, shaking Millie's extended hand.

"Yeah, Melody's mother. She really does look like you. Oh, I'm Millie."

"Thank you." Lisbon smiled, resisting the urge to glare at Jane who just stood there smiling. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for offering to check on Melody. I just hope J-Patrick didn't force you into it or anything."

"No, not at all." Millie shook her head. "I offered."

"Alright." Though, Lisbon still wasn't convinced that Jane didn't hypnotize her.

"How about you two start making the soup and getting the medicine ready." Jane suggested and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him. Not suspecting the hug, Lisbon stumbled and fell against him. "I'm going to go check on our little girl." He placed an affectionate kiss on the top of Lisbon's head, smiled at Millie and headed upstairs.

When Jane let her go, Lisbon got her balance and picked the bag of groceries up off the floor, blushing profusely as she led Millie into the kitchen.

"Hi, Melody." Jane said as he sat on the edge of the guest bed.

"Hi." Melody croaked.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"I don't feel bad enough to be sick again." Melody coughed.

"That's good. It's going to be okay. I went and got you some medicine and some yummy chicken noodle soup. And guess what?"

"What?"

"Millie even came to visit."

"Really?" Melody asked.

"Yep." Jane nodded. "And we're all playing a game."

"A game?"

"Mhm. We're playing doctor."

"How do you play?"

"It's very easy." Jane explained. "Millie is the doctor. You're the patient. Teresa and I are your parents."

"So…I call you mommy and daddy?" Melody asked.

"You got it!" Jane praised. "You're such a smart girl."

Melody smiled, proud of herself.

"Come on." Jane told her, grabbing her slippers from beside the bed, slipping them on her feet and picking her up. "'Mommy' and Millie are making you some chicken noodle soup. Do you like chicken noodle soup?"

"Yeah." Melody nodded and wrapped her arms around Jane's neck, nuzzling her face into his shoulder.

He rubbed her back as he carried her down the stairs and into the kitchen where Lisbon and Millie were making the soup. "Hello, ladies." he smiled as Lisbon and Millie turned to look at him and Melody as they entered.

"Hi, Melody." Millie said kindly.

Melody turned her head, still resting it on Jane's shoulder, looked at Millie and gave a weak wave with one hand. "Hi, Millie."

Millie walked over to stand in front of Jane and Melody. She placed a hand on Melody's forehead. "Hm. You feel a bit warm, but you're not burning up. And you're a bit pale." The dark bruise under Melody's left eye stood out even more against her paler skin and it made a knot form in Millie's gut. She gently ran the pad of her thumb over it and Melody winced so she quickly pulled her hand away. "Melody." Millie said quietly. "I need to see your other bruise to make sure it has not gotten worse."

Melody looked hesitantly at the floor, not wanting to show her bruise again. Everyone was always sad when she showed her bruise. Plus, it hurt. "Mmm…" She really wanted to say no.

"Teresa." Jane called over to her.

Lisbon had been glancing over nervously from where she stood stirring the soup. She gave him a quizzical look.

He gestured with his head for her to go over and she abandoned the soup to join them. Jane handed Melody over to her giving them both a small hug before he went to stir the soup Lisbon had left.

"Can you put her down?" Millie asked quietly.

Lisbon knelt down and placed Melody down so she was standing and the two adults were knelt near her.

"I'm going to be careful." Millie promised. "I don't want to hurt you, but I have to make sure that your ribs are okay. They're important. It won't take long, I promise."

Melody shifted on her feet, pressing her back against Lisbon.

"It's okay." Lisbon whispered. "You should show her."

Reluctantly, Melody turned so that Millie could have a good view of her right side and leaned her head against Lisbon's shoulder as Millie inspected the injury. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes tight while Lisbon whispered nice things into her ear, until Millie was done.

"There you go." Lisbon whispered when Millie was done. "You're such a brave girl." She wiped at the few tears that had fallen onto Melody's cheeks.

Millie gave a small smile. "Good news, nothing's broken."

Lisbon smiled at the good news. "And now we can have some yummy soup, Melody."

"Okay, mommy." Melody said as Lisbon picked her up and placed her on the chair. An odd expression crossed Lisbon's face at Melody's comment, but she quickly forced it away by the time Millie turned to look at them.

Jane grabbed four bowls from the cupboard and placed them on the counter near the stove. "Would you like to stay for soup, Millie?"

Millie glanced at the clock and thought for a moment. "Yeah. I can stay a few more minutes for soup."

Jane spooned some soup into a bowl and handed it to her. He gave her a spoon as well and she went to sit at the table. Jane then spooned some soup into a bowl for Melody, grabbed a spoon and placed it in front of her.

"Careful." Lisbon warned Melody. "It's very hot."

Melody blew on her steaming bowl of soup until she started coughing again.

Millie handed Lisbon the medicine and an extra spoon.

Lisbon pulled a chair over next to Melody's and carefully poured a spoonful of medicine. "You should have some medicine." Lisbon told her niece.

Melody eyed the medicine warily. Then she shook her head. "It's going to taste bad, mommy."

"But it will help you feel better. It won't taste bad for long. Please?" Lisbon asked.

Melody continued to eye the medicine and then wrinkled her nose. Hesitantly she opened her mouth and took the medicine.

"There you go." Lisbon smiled.

Melody made a face as she forced herself to swallow the bad tasting red liquid. "Bleh." she stuck out her tongue.

Lisbon handed the medicine and spoon over to Jane who put the medicine in one of the cupboards and the spoon in the sink. They all sat down at the table and ate their soup, talking casually.

"That was very tasty." Millie said as she put her bowl in the sink followed by everyone else. "Thank you very much. However, I should get going."

"We wouldn't want to keep you." Jane told her as Lisbon picked Melody up out of her chair. They all headed to the front door.

Millie put her shoes on and grabbed her purse. "I hope you guys have a good day. If anything happens, call the hospital, or, do you have a pen and paper?"

"Here." Jane held out his phone.

"Good enough." Millie said, taking the phone and entering her information. "Just give me a call."

"Thank you." Lisbon said.

"Oh, it's no problem." Millie shook her head and then addressed Melody. "I hope you feel better soon, sweetie." she rubbed the young girls back. "Mommy and daddy are going to take real good care of you. I know they will. Bye."

"Bye." Melody gave her a smile and waved as the nurse left.

"Well that was a nice visit." Jane said as he closed the door behind their leaving guest.

"Yes, it was." Lisbon nodded, tiredly.

"Does this mean the game is over?" Melody asked.

Lisbon's brows furrowed. "Game?"

"Yes, Melody." Jane told her, ignoring Lisbon's question. "The game is over for now."

Lisbon glared at Jane, but now was not the time to argue with him. "Come on, Melody." Lisbon said. "Lets go get you back to bed. You can't get better if you don't rest up." Lisbon headed upstairs to the guest bedroom, carrying Melody with her. "If you need anything else, call for me, okay?" Lisbon said, placing Melody on the bed and tucking the covers in around her.

"Okay." Melody gave a small nod.

"You should get some sleep. I have a treat for you later."

"Cookies?" Melody asked hopefully.

"No. Sorry."

"Candy?"

"You can't eat it, Melody." Lisbon smiled and shook her head.

"Oh."

"Just get some rest. You'll feel much better soon." Lisbon leaned forward, placing an affectionate kiss to Melody's forehead before switching off the light and shutting the door.

"That's what the bubble bath is for, isn't it?" Jane whispered as Lisbon shut the door.

Lisbon jumped slightly. She hadn't expected him to be waiting outside the door. "Jeez, Jane." Lisbon shook her head and made her way across the hall to her room, Jane in tow.

"That was why, right?" Jane repeated.

"Yes, Jane. That's why I asked you to get some bubble bath." Lisbon began to take the pillowcases off her bed pillows, throwing the pillows themselves on a nearby chair.

"What are you doing?"

"Changing the sheets, Jane. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Would-" Jane was cut off by Lisbon's cell phone ringing.

"Lisbon." she picked up.

"Hey, boss." It was Van Pelt. "Um…where are you?"

Lisbon pressed her palm to her forehead. She'd forgotten to call in and tell them she wasn't going in. "Melody got sick. Sorry. I forgot to call you."

"She's sick?" Van Pelt gasped. "How bad?"

"Nothing serious." Lisbon replied casually. "She just needs to take it easy is all. She'll be fine by tomorrow, I'm sure."

"Okay. Let her know that I hope she feels better." Van Pelt said.

"I will."

"Do you know where Jane is, though?"

"He's here." Lisbon sighed. "He went to get me some medicine for Melody and has decided to stick around. What's happening there?"

"Nothing really." Van Pelt shrugged, even though Lisbon couldn't see it. "Just filling out and filing forms. Did you want me to fill out your forms for extra vacation time?"

"Would you?" Lisbon asked. "That would be great. I'll just stop in and sign them tomorrow morning. Thank you."

"No problem." Van Pelt smiled. "And we're still on for Tuesday, right? I'm sure it'll be fine if you bring Melody."

"Yoga, right." Lisbon remembered. "Yeah. I'll just make sure she's up to it when the time comes."

"Okay. I hope she is feeling better. I'll see you later, then." Van Pelt said cheerily.

"Yeah. Later, bye." And Lisbon hung up.

"Yoga?" Jane asked.

"_You're_ _not_ coming." Lisbon shot back.

"And why not?"

Lisbon just looked at him and raised a brow.

"Fine." Jane shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Exclude me from your yoga class. I'll just stay here…and rummage through all your stuff. Digging deeper into your past. Missing my lovely illegitimate wife and daughter while they're off at yo-"

"Stop being such a drama queen." Lisbon rolled her eyes as she continued removing bed sheets.

"Do you want some help?" Jane asked.

"You're going to actually help?" Lisbon smirked.

"Stop acting like I never do anything for you. It hurts my feelings." Jane walked to the other side of the bed and helped her remove the mattress cover and she threw it on top of the pile of bedding that she had created. Jane hurried back to the other side of the mattress and helped Lisbon split the pile into two. One for him to carry and one for her to carry. He then followed Lisbon back down the stairs and into the small room that had her washer and dryer.

"Leave your pile on top of the dryer. We can wash it after." Lisbon instructed him as she dumped her pile into the washer and put in the appropriate amount of detergent. She set and started the washer then left to sit down in the living room.

"So what should we do now?" Jane asked, plopping down on the couch next to Lisbon.

Lisbon shrugged and just gazed at the dark TV screen. They sat, sharing the silence before Lisbon spoke. "Why did Melody call me Mommy when Millie was here? And what _game_?"

"Ah." Jane gave a small nod then leaned back against the couch, stretching his arms across the top. "That. Well. I told Melody we were playing doctor."

"Excuse me?" Lisbon crossed her arms and sent Jane a suspicious look.

Jane shrugged off her look. "Well, I don't know about you, but I didn't feel like explaining why our 'daughter' calls us by our names or that the whole thing was just a funny trick. However, if you want to, we do have their number."

Lisbon narrowed her eyes. He was right. She really didn't want to explain either of those things. She just huffed and slumped more against the back of the couch. "How did the 'game' work then?"

"I simply told her that Millie was playing the doctor, you and I were the patient's parents and she was the patient."

"And she really-…well she is only four." Lisbon wasn't in the mood to argue. She rubbed her eyes and leaned her head back, eyes closed.

"Do I get to ask you a question now?" Jane asked.

Lisbon groaned. "You're going to ask regardless of how I answer."

"You know me so well." Jane said fondly.

"Yay." Lisbon said sarcastically with a small smile.

Jane gave a small smile as he turned to look at the black TV screen and spoke quietly. "Maybe it's personal, I hope you don't mind me asking. But, what happened to Melody's mother?"

Lisbon turned her head to look at him with a questioning look. Then she cast a glance in the direction of the stairs, just in case she hadn't heard Melody come down before looking back at Jane. "Her mother wasn't so enthusiastic about the whole parenthood thing. James tried to include her…but it didn't work out. She hasn't seen Melody since Melody was about one I think James said." Lisbon looked down at her lap.

They sat in another moment of silence as Jane took in the information. "I thought she had died." Jane confessed.

Lisbon looked at him again, confused.

"Well, you never mentioned her mother, James is incredibly attached to her and so are you."

"I am not incredibly attached to her." Lisbon protested. "She's my niece. I love her."

"Please." Jane rolled his eyes. "The moment anything might be wrong or anything might upset her in the slightest, you go 'mama bear Lisbon'."

"I don't want my niece getting hurt, so I'm smothering her?" Lisbon shot back.

"No. But I've never met someone who would let their niece sleep in a bed with them."

"No." Lisbon retorted sarcastically. "I was just going to send her back to her room so she could cry herself to sleep. After a traumatic experience like the one she had."

"Touché." Jane nodded. "But you are still very mothering of her."

"I care. Sue me."

"I wouldn't sue you for caring, Lisbon." Jane shook his head.

Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"Come' ere, Lisbon. You seem upset." Jane wrapped his arms around Lisbon's torso and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Wha-let go." Lisbon struggled against him.

"Aw. Someone doesn't like hugs." Jane teased.

"Or maybe someone's just not in the mood for a hug." Lisbon smirked, still struggling.

"You're always in the mood for one of my hugs." Jane smiled.

"Pft. No I'm not." Lisbon chuckled.

"Oh, Lisbon. It's just us here. You don't have to lie."

Lisbon let out a small laugh. "Who's lying here?"

"You are." Jane answered lightly, poking her side just under the rib cage to see if he could get her to react.

Lisbon held back a laugh/yell and squirmed even more.

"What's this?" Jane mused. "The tough Teresa Lisbon is ticklish?"

"No." Lisbon blushed.

"Hm…" Jane poked her again and she reacted the same. "Yes. Yes you are."

"This isn't funny, Jane." Lisbon tried to reply as normally as possible with Jane still poking her side.

"Then why are you trying not to laugh?"

"Because you're being ridiculous."

"Oh, that's why." Jane replied sarcastically, poking her again and smiled as she tried to fend him off.

-Mentalist-

A few hours later they had the first load of laundry in the dryer and the second in the washer. They woke Melody up to give her something to eat and drink. Lisbon was happy to see that some colour had returned to Melody's face and she wasn't breathing so heavily anymore. They let the girl watch some TV while they put new sheets on Lisbon's bed.

"Pillow fight!" Jane announced as he smacked Lisbon's back with the newly cased pillow.

Lisbon turned to glare at him. "That's so immature!" Lisbon smacked him with the pillow she had just put in a pillowcase. "It's cowardly to attack someone from behind like that!" she smiled.

"Cowardly?" Jane huffed. "Smart and tactical, more like it." All he got was a pillow smack to the face. "Oh, but _my _attack was immature!" Jane laughed and swung his pillow at her again.

"Yes it was." Lisbon nodded and retaliated. "And if you don't cut it out, these pillows are going to be wrecked."

"Me?" Jane gasped. "You started it. You always hurt my feelings. How else am I to express myself than with a little pillow talk?"

Lisbon laughed. "Clever. Now put the pillow on the bed."

Jane hung his head, though he wore a small smile. "You're never any fun." he grumbled as he did as he was told and left the room to go check on Melody.

Lisbon smiled and shook her head as she put the pillow she had on the bed, fixed them and went to the living room with Jane. Melody was watching Sesame Street, giggling at Oscar the grouch.

"When Annabeth was little, Oscar scared her." Lisbon told Melody as she sat down next to her niece.

"Really?" Melody asked. "Why?"

"She thought he was just really scary because he is always so, you know. Grouchy."

Melody laughed, turning her attention back to the TV. "But he's funny."

Jane walked into the living room and sat on the other side of Melody, handing her a little shiny bag of animal crackers. "There you are."

"Thank you." Melody coughed then took the bag.

"So who's funny?" Jane asked.

"Oscar." Melody answered, trying to get the bag open.

"Do you want some help?" Lisbon asked.

"No." Melody said, then grumbled still trying to open the bag.

"Come on." Lisbon chuckled, holding out her hand for the bag.

Melody just kept trying and then the bag ripped, almost sending animal crackers flying everywhere, but Melody and Lisbon managed to stop that from happening. Carefully the pair maundered the bag so that the animal crackers would stay inside and Melody could eat them.

"Can you tell me what animal this is?" Lisbon asked, pulling out a cracker.

"That's a hipotomus." Melody said.

Lisbon smiled at Melody's attempt. "Good. But it's pronounced hippopotamus."

"Hipotomus." Melody tried again.

"Hip." Lisbon started.

"Hip." Melody repeated.

"Po."

"Po."

"Pota."

"Pota."

"Mus."

"Mus. Hip-po-pota-mus." the word sounded clumsy when Melody finally managed it, but it was still right.

"Good job." Lisbon smiled and held out her hand.

Melody gave her a high-five and giggled as she ate the animal cracker.

They watched TV for a little while more before Lisbon sent Melody back upstairs to rest a little bit more.

"What are we going to have for supper?" Jane asked as he and Lisbon stood in the kitchen.

"We can give Melody the last little bit of soup. Um, there's some cream-style corn. Some peas in the freezer and…" she opened the fridge door, shuffling through the contents. Seeing nothing she moved to the freezer. "I have some chicken fingers." Lisbon pulled the box of frozen chicken fingers and a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer.

"Better then nothing." Jane told her as she placed the items on the counter and started searching the cupboards for the corn.

"How are you feeling?" Lisbon asked as she sat on the side of the bed and gently shook Melody's shoulder.

"Mnh." Melody rubbed her eyes, then slowly opened them. "I'm better." She mumbled. Melody slowly sat up, looking tiredly at her aunt.

"How about a nice warm bubble bath?" Lisbon asked.

"Bubble bath?" Melody asked.

Lisbon nodded and leaned forward whispering, "And after, we can watch the Little Mermaid."

"Yeah?"

Lisbon nodded again.

"And Pocahontas?"

"I don't have that one." Lisbon pouted. "I'm sorry. They had all three Little Mermaid movies on TV a little while ago so I recorded them for you. But I didn't see Pocahontas."

"Oh." Melody gave her aunt a smile. "It's okay. Maybe they'll play Pocahontas later."

"Maybe." Lisbon smiled. "First. How about that bubble bath, huh?"

"Yeah." Melody nodded and Lisbon helped her out of bed.

Lisbon grabbed an extra pair of pyjamas and things for Melody before they headed to the bathroom. Lisbon placed Melody's extra set of clothes and hair brush on the counter. "Wait here." She told Melody. "I have something else."

Melody waited patiently, eagerly looking at the warm bubbly water with floating rubber duck and frog toys that sat in the bathtub and smelled really nice.

That was how Lisbon found her when she returned with two plates of dinner. "Dinner and a bath." Lisbon announced cheerily.

"Yay!" Melody cheered.

Lisbon placed the plates on the empty part of the counter. She had left Jane to eat dinner downstairs to eat supper by himself. He had gone through the '_whoa is me. How am I ever to eat dinner without the two beautiful Lisbon girls to keep me company?_' Then dramatically brought the back of his hand to his forehead, leaning on the kitchen counter with a big had just laughed and said, '_I'm sure you'll live for an hour without my presence_'. Of course he continued to dramatically insist that he indeed would not. She just smiled, laughed and grabbed the plates. She heard him call, '_hurry back, snookums_' as she left the kitchen. She had only laughed and retorted, '_not if you're going to call me that again_'. Lisbon turned to face Melody, still smiling from what happened before. "Bath time." She helped Melody out of her pyjamas and into the bath.

Melody swished around some of the bubbles and grabbed a rubber ducky. It made a squeaking noise and Melody giggled. Lisbon put the plates on the ledge of the bathtub and sat on the floor. Dinner and a bath proved to be quite fun and Lisbon dried Melody off when it was over. Then Melody changed into her extra pair of pyjamas, which was a dark blue nightgown. It had frilly short sleeves and a picture of Cookie Monster stuffing his face with his favourite food. Lisbon quickly blow-dried Melody's hair and sent the girl downstairs to accompany Jane. Before heading downstairs herself, she put Melody's old clothes in the laundry hamper and put on a new pair of pyjamas, which was really an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"I see you made it out okay." Lisbon commented as she walked into the living room to see Melody and Jane cuddled together on the couch, watching some random show. Jane had changed into a plain shirt and shorts to sleep in.

"I had to think of the children!" Jane threw his head back and wailed. "But a piece of me died inside."

Melody looked up at him with an odd expression, very worried about the CBI consultant.

Lisbon's lips tilted up into a smile. "Don't worry, Melody." She whispered sitting on the couch on the opposite side of Melody from Jane. "He's not contagious."

"And there goes another piece of my heart!" Jane gasped.

Lisbon just laughed and picked up the remote to find where the recorded movies were on the TV. It started with the third one because it was supposed to be the beginning according to the title. When they got to the original Little Mermaid started, it was almost eight and even the adults were getting drowsy. They made it to the second of the Little Mermaid movies. Jane had only ever seen the original, so the other two were new to him. Melody hummed along to the tune of the first song and Jane couldn't help but smirk as the song played.

"_You are my world my darling. _

_What a wonderful world I see._

_You are the song I'm singing. _

_You're my beautiful Melody."_

Melody wiggled her feet and snuggled closer to the adults as the song continued. Her eyelids were drooping.

By the time the movie ended, Melody was barely awake and Jane and Lisbon were very ready to go to bed. Lisbon turned off the TV as Jane picked Melody up and the three headed upstairs. Melody was asleep before Jane had even made it all the way up the stairs. Jane placed Melody in the bed and then he and Lisbon crawled under the sheets with her, cuddling her between them.

Jane decided they should have had Melody visit a long time ago. And more often in the future.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's chapter six! Let me know what you all think and review please! =3**


	7. Giggiling Breakfast

**Author's Note: Hola! So this chapter is shorter then basically all the other ones...but that's just how it is. Obviously there are more chapters to come anyway. :P I would just like to thank everyone once again for all the awesome reviews, they totally keep me going and put a smile on my face. I would also like to just mention that it's two of my friend's birthdays today(twins, exciting :P). So, as usual, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please read and review!**

* * *

Lisbon was comfy. Very comfy. She nuzzled even more into her pillow. Vacation was good. She was at peace with everything. The world was warm and cozy and nice smelling. She tried to snuggle Melody closer to her, but the girl wasn't there. Lisbon lazily decided that she must have gone to the guest room so thought nothing of it and continued to lie there. She wasn't quite sure how long she had just lay there, but it didn't really matter to her. Finally she opened her eyes and found herself returning the gaze of bright blue eyes. She wasn't even surprised anymore.

"Morning." Jane murmured tiredly with a small smile and hugged her closer.

Lisbon buried her face in the pillow. "Where's Melody?"

Jane yawned and glanced around the room. "Um…I don't know."

Lisbon propped herself up on her elbows and looked around the room as well. She still didn't see Melody. Lisbon got out of bed-Jane reluctantly let her go-and she checked the guest room. Still nothing. The bathroom door was open, no sign of her there. Lisbon wandered downstairs and into the living room where she found the TV on, showing some cartoon with a talking sponge and starfish. Rounding to the front of the couch, Lisbon saw Melody. The young girl had wrapped herself in Lisbon's favourite leather jacket with just her head peaking out the top and little monster feet slippers poking out from the bottom. Lisbon smiled. Melody was so entertained by the show that she didn't even notice her aunt until Lisbon spoke. "Morning, Melody."

Melody's head turned quickly to look at Lisbon and smiled. "Morning, Teresa."

"How are you feeling today?" Lisbon asked, sitting next to Melody on the couch, wrapping an arm around the girl and pulling her close.

"I'm fine." Melody smiled and snuggled closer to her aunt.

"What's with the jacket?" Lisbon asked.

"Oh. Was it okay of me to use it?"

"It's fine, don't worry." Lisbon kissed Melody's head.

"It was cold when I got out of bed." Melody admitted. "I saw this on a chair and thought it would be good."

"And you're all snug, now?" Lisbon asked.

"Mhm." Melody nodded.

"Are we going to get breakfast started?" Jane asked entering the living room.

"Yeah, of course." Lisbon said to him, getting up from the couch.

"Can I help?" Melody asked.

"Don't you want to finish watching your show?" Lisbon asked.

Melody looked back at the TV. Her show was currently being interrupted by commercials. She thought for a moment. She really was enjoying the show. "Yeah."

"How about you see how we're doing when your show is over." Lisbon smiled. "Maybe we'll need some help then, okay?"

Melody nodded.

Lisbon kissed her niece on the head and went with Jane to the kitchen. "So what are we going to make for breakfast?" she turned to look at Jane when they were in the kitchen.

"Hm…" Jane looked around the kitchen thoughtfully. "What do you have? I would say pancakes, but I don't know if you have all the ingredients. Eggs? Do you have eggs, Lisbon?"

"Yes." Lisbon went over to the fridge and opened it, pulling out a 12 pack of eggs.

"Wonderful." Jane clapped his hands together and went over to the stove, pulling out a pan and turning on the appliance. "I'm thinking scrambled. With some toast."

"Sounds good." Lisbon put the pack of eggs next to the stove and pulled out five eggs. She grabbed a medium sized bowl from the cupboard and broke the eggs into it. Then Lisbon grabbed a whisk from the drawer and began to beat the eggs until they were all scrambled nicely while Jane got the pan ready and grabbed some bread from the fridge for toast.

It wasn't long before they had the eggs on the go and toast in the toaster.

"Do you need my help?"

Jane and Lisbon turned to see Melody standing in the doorway to the kitchen, she had shed the leather jacket.

Lisbon thought for a moment. There was the knives and forks but…

"There's a very special job just for you, Melody." Jane took initiative, talking enthusiastically, when Lisbon didn't speak immediately.

Melody's eyes sparkled. She had a special job! Just for her! She hurried over to stand by Jane, waiting to know what her special job was.

"Lisbon, could you take over for me for a second?" Jane asked, gesturing to the eggs.

Lisbon hesitated, but gave in and took the pan from Jane, shifting the eggs around.

Jane walked over to one of the drawers further down the counter. Melody followed close behind, bouncing in anticipation.

"Jane!" Lisbon hissed as Jane opened the drawer. She knew what was in the drawer.

Jane waved his hand dismissively. "Pay attention to the eggs, Lisbon. Relax. She'll be fine."

Melody was confused, but that did nothing to make her any less excited to find out her special job.

Jane reached into the drawer, pulling out three forks and three butter knives, fully aware that Lisbon was glaring at him. "You're special job." Jane whispered to Melody. "You get to put the forks on the table."

Melody's jaw dropped a bit. Her daddy never let her do that. Or her babysitters-especially not Annabeth. "Really?"

"Yep." Jane nodded and held out the cutlery, pulling them back a bit as Melody reached for them. "No running, skipping or anything but walking with them. Be _very_ careful. Okay?"

"Promise." Melody smiled and Jane placed the items in her hands. She walked slowly to the table, holding the cutlery far from her body.

Lisbon watched Melody nervously the entire way.

"Eyes on the eggs or they'll burn." Jane whispered in her ear.

She shifted her gaze to glare at him. "I can't believe you." She grumbled at him. "She could really hurt herself with those, you know that? Do you understand?" She turned the burner off and moved the pot to one of the unused ones so the eggs could cool a bit.

Jane rolled his eyes. "Melody's fine. Look. She just wanted to help. Now she's happy because she got to."

"Not my point." Lisbon grumbled.

"Lighten up." Jane gently bumped her hip with his.

Lisbon staggered a bit, not expecting the force. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head, trying to move around Jane to get to the toaster.

"How about a smile?" Jane coaxed.

"No."

"Aw, come on. You can't be _that_ mad about it."

"No comment." Lisbon reached out for the toaster.

Jane wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her back against him. "Aw. Pwease don't be mad at me, Wisbon." Jane whined in her ear like her were talking to a puppy or a baby. "All I want is a widdle smile."

"God, Jane." Lisbon swatted at his arm, trying to keep the smile off her face. "You're such a child."

"I will tickle you into smiling." Jane threatened light-heartedly.

"You wouldn't." Lisbon told him, knowing deep down that he really would.

"Wouldn't I?" Jane asked, raising a brow.

"Nononononono." Lisbon muttered to herself, knowing what was coming and trying to protect her side from Jane. "No." she bit out as Jane's finger poked her in the side and she squirmed. "I'm not ticklish." She insisted.

"Oh, you're not?" Jane poked her side again.

The brunet agent pursed her lips and squirmed harder. It wasn't much longer before she couldn't stop herself and she had to laugh and shriek, squirming harder.

Melody hurried over from the table where she had successfully completed her mission. "What going on?" She wasn't sure if the game looked like fun. Both adults were laughing.

"Teresa is ticklish." Jane told her.

Melody laughed. "Really?"

Jane dragged the squirming and laughing Lisbon away from the counter. Trying to get her footing, Lisbon accidentally tripped Jane and he fell to the floor with Lisbon falling on him. Melody went to make sure they were okay and Lisbon tried to make her escape with no luck. Jane grabbed her in time.

"Help me, Melody!" Jane called to Melody.

"No! Make him let me go! Make him stop!" Lisbon gasped out between laughter.

Melody hurried over and began to poke her aunt's side and laughed as Lisbon continued to try and defend herself.

"Haha!" Jane laughed in triumph.

"No!" Lisbon laughed, reaching over to grab Melody, pulling the girl down and poking her tummy, trying to stay more on the left side away from Melody's bruise, as Melody started to squirm and shriek with laughter.

"Ahhh!" Melody laughed, trying to curl into a ball and cover her tummy.

Jane switched his target, joining forces with Lisbon to tickle Melody as the poor girl squirmed around on the floor laughing.

"No! You tricked me!" Melody gasped.

"It was a clever trap! Mwahaha!" Lisbon laughed evilly which only got Melody and Jane to laugh more.

The laughing and tickling went on for a little bit longer before Melody had to stop it.

"Ow!" Melody yelled.

Lisbon wasn't sure if it was a serious 'ow' or a laughing 'ow'. She held back on her tickling and Jane stopped as well. "Are you alright?"

Melody didn't seem in lots of pain, she was still trying to stop laughing as were the adults, but her hand went to her right side, over her bruise.

"Go get breakfast." Lisbon told Jane.

He nodded and got up to do that.

Lisbon got Melody to sit up and checked her bruise. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Melody smiled. "It doesn't hurt much. Jus' cause I was laughing so much and that."

"Alright. Tell me if it really hurts." Lisbon told her and they both got up.

"Okay." Melody nodded as she and Lisbon made their way to the table.

Lisbon helped Melody onto her chair and ran her fingers through the little girl's hair, as a makeshift hairbrush.

"Breakfast." Jane said as he set a plate full of eggs and toast in front of Melody as well as a bottle of ketchup. "I'll be right back with some orange juice."

Lisbon kissed Melody's head and went to get her own plate of breakfast and glass of orange juice. She wasn't in the mood for coffee this morning. Odd.

The three sat at the table, eating and making easy conversation. They laughed and made jokes. Melody tried not to spit her orange juice all over the table as she took a sip and Jane made her laugh. Lisbon swatted Jane's arm when he teased her. Jane teased and was glad for the company. Usually team vacations meant lots of alone time for him, and after a while, that started to suck. He was willing to bet that this would be one of the most memorable team vacations ever for him.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope to be updating soon. And Ciissa, I did try to incorperate that idea into the beginning with Jane and Lisbon waking up, thank you for that. That's it for now. Please review.**

**And one last HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my two friends from me. :3  
**


	8. Cookies and Invitations

**Author's Note: Yay! Here's chapter eight! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far(again)! I'm happy that you all seem to be enjoying it so far, I'm enjoying writing it. So, yeah. Chapter eight. Hope you all continue to enjoy.**

* * *

After breakfast the trio got changed and headed out to the office so that Lisbon could sign her vacation papers.

"What are we going to do today?" Melody asked from her car seat. Lisbon was so glad they had one now.

"I don't know." Lisbon replied as she pulled into the CBI parking lot. "What do you want to do?"

"You said we could go to the zoo." Melody reminded Lisbon.

"It's already eleven thirty. It would be a late start if we went today." Lisbon told her, turning off the engine.

"Oh." Melody gave a little pout.

"We could go tomorrow." Jane suggested.

"There's an idea." Lisbon got out of the car and then opened the back door to let Melody out of the car seat. "We'll go to the zoo tomorrow, Melody." Lisbon took Melody's hand and the three made their way into the building. "I promise."

"Okay." Melody smiled and walked with Lisbon and Jane. "But what are we going to do today?"

Both the adults were thinking.

"I know!" Jane exclaimed as the elevator doors shut behind them and he looked down at Melody. "We can make cookies!"

Melody's face lit up and she began to bounced as she looked up at Lisbon. "Can we, Teresa!? Can we!? Can we!? _Please_!"

"If you want." Lisbon smiled.

"Yay!" Melody clapped. "They're going to be the bestest cookies ever!"

Lisbon laughed. "Yeah. And Patrick is going to find a recipe while I fill out my forms. We'll stop at the grocery store on our way home."

Jane gave her a confused look. He was going to find a recipe? He didn't remember volunteering to do that. But what could he say? No? Melody was excited for these cookies. Jane sighed. Now he was going to have to spend his time looking up recipes. "What kind of cookies?"

"Chocolate chip!" Melody said happily as the elevator doors pinged open and they stepped out. They went into Lisbon's office and Jane grabbed her laptop with some protest from the agent before she just rolled her eyes.

Lisbon mentally kicked herself when she saw the paperwork that she had neglected and then forgot about a few days ago to see Melody in the hospital. Well, she might as well do that, too. She was here and it wasn't going to complete itself. Unfortunately.

With both the adults busy, Melody slipped out of the room to go explore the offices'. The bullpen looked weird to her without the rest of Lisbon's team sitting at their assigned desks and working. It looked a little empty even though there were other agents there working. Bored with that since she had already seen it, Melody began to walk around more. She ended up back near the elevator and looked at the staircase in front of it. Well…she _had_ wondered what was up there. And no one had told her she _couldn't_ go up there. Melody looked around, seeing no one near her, she hurried over and ascended the stairs. The attic was interesting. There looked like there was someone's bedroom up there. Did they live here too? When even that bored her, she went back downstairs. As she got off the last step, the elevator doors pinged and opened. A man about Jane's age and a little girl about her own age stepped out.

"Hello." the man said when he noticed Melody. He had light brown hair, chocolate coloured eyes and was dressed in a nice shirt and dress pants.

The little girl inched closer to the man looking nervous. She had lighter brown hair and the same eyes. She had on a pink and white stripped t-shirt and some dark blue shorts with sneakers.

"Hi." Melody waved.

The man walked over to her, the young girl trailing close behind. "Are you Melody?"

Melody was confused. Did she know him? She nodded.

"Is your mommy or daddy here?"

Melody just looked at him, confused.

"Is your mommy Teresa Lisbon?"

Melody was about to tell him that she wasn't her mom but then realised that maybe he didn't know the game was over. It's not nice to ruin other people's fun. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"No. I would hope you're not." He chuckled. "I'm Andrew Fallon. You met my wife, Sandy Fallon? She treated you at the hospital."

Melody remembered Sandy. She was really nice. "She gave me a lollipop." It was a good thing that Melody remembered about the game. Phew!

Mr. Fallon laughed. "I'm sure she did. She always does. Anyway, is your mommy or daddy here?"

"Mommy and Daddy are in Mommy's office. We're going to make cookies later."

"Wow, cookies." Mr. Fallon sounded impressed. "I'm sure they'll be yummy. Maybe you will save me and Elizabeth some."

Melody looked to the other girl standing close to the man. "Hi." She said to the girl, realising that she hadn't introduced herself to her. "I'm Melody."

Elizabeth gave Melody a cautious smile and waved. "Everyone usually calls me Ellie."

"Sometimes my family calls me Melly. First it was Annabeth. Then my uncle Tommy. And daddy. And some other people. But mostly they call me Melody. Because my name is Melody."

Mr. Fallon was happy to see the two were getting along. "Can you take me to your parents?"

"Yep." Melody nodded and skipped down the hall as Mr. Fallon and Ellie followed. She was so good at this game! It was like normal life, but she called Teresa mommy instead of Teresa and Patrick daddy instead of Patrick. "Mommy, daddy!" Melody announced as she opened the door to Lisbon's office. "You have visitors for you."

Lisbon looked up at the door and so did Jane.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon." Mr. Fallon smiled. "Hello."

Lisbon sent Jane a look. How many people had he told that they were married!? Geez! Then she turned to look at the man who had just walked in and smiled. "Hi." She stood and shook his hand. "Who are you? I don't believe we've met."

"Oh, no we haven't. I'm sorry. I'm Andrew Fallon. My wife, Sandy, treated Melody at the hospital. And this is our daughter, Elizabeth. We call her Ellie for short."

"Hi." Ellie gave a small smile.

Lisbon waved at her before looking back at the girl's father. "Is there something…?" Lisbon trailed off as she glance down at Melody who was trying to coax Ellie into an actual conversation.

Mr. Fallon followed her gaze. "No. Oh, no. Nothing like that." He assured Lisbon. "Maybe they could play somewhere, though? Ellie is usually shy."

"Sure, yeah." Lisbon nodded. "Melody." She crouched down to be at eye level with her niece. "Why don't you and Ellie go play your video games or read on J-P-daddy's couch in the bullpen?"

"Okay!" Melody nodded and held her hand out to Ellie. "Come on, Ellie." She encouraged. "I have some games we can play. They're really fun."

Ellie looked up nervously at her father who nodded.

"Go ahead, sweetie. It'll be fine."

Ellie took Melody's hand and was practically dragged out of the office by Melody.

"So what's this about?" Jane asked once the children were gone. He had sat up properly and placed the laptop on the couch armrest.

"Nothing bad, Mr. Lisbon. I assure you."

Lisbon's lips tilted upward slightly. He was Mr. _Lisbon_ now. Not Mr. _Jane_. _She_ was the one wearing the pants, she realised. Maybe this wasn't as bad as she had first thought.

"Sandy and I felt it would be best to give you your invitation in person." Mr. Fallon continued.

"Invitation?" Lisbon asked. "For what?"

Mr. Fallon produced a small white envelope from his pants pocket. "Here. I work in the state capital building. If we don't meet some kind of quota for hosting fancy parties, then there's something wrong." he handed Lisbon the envelope and she took it. "At least, that's how people in the political world seem to see it. These parties get boring with the same faces and the same conversations. Sandy felt you were good people and wanted to invite you. You're not obligated to come. It's the Saturday coming up."

"That's a very nice gesture." Lisbon smiled, opening the envelope and reading the invitation. "Is this your address?"

"No." Mr. Fallon chuckled. "We rented out a hall. We don't live in a very big house. We're not fans of the overtly glamorous lifestyle. We also don't want Ellie to grow up as a spoiled brat."

"She's a sweetheart." Lisbon looked through the window, over to where Melody and Ellie sat on Jane's couch. Melody had her DS out and held it between them, pointing at the screen and talking to Ellie. Ellie had a very observant look to her, occasionally saying something.

"Well, thank you." Mr. Fallon smiled, looking at the two as well. "So is yours. Very friendly. Brave little trooper too, if what Sandy says is right."

"She certainly tries to be." Lisbon told him, smiling.

"She gets that from her mom." Jane finally spoke, getting up from the couch not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

Lisbon stuck out her tongue. "Shut up."

"Don't stick your tongue out at me, Teresa." Jane chided lightly as he walked over and gave her a hug. "That's a terrible example to set for Melody."

"Oh, _I'm_ the bad example." Lisbon rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Well I didn't say you, yourself were." Jane kissed her head, plucking the invitation out of her hand and reading it. Then before Lisbon could say anything he continued, "This sounds like a wonderful gesture." Jane smiled at Mr. Fallon. "We would be honored to join you. I'm sure we'll be able to make it."

"That's wonderful to hear." Mr. Fallon smiled brightly.

Unable to think of anything to add to the conversation at the moment, Lisbon just smiled.

"It's a formal event. So, obviously nice attire. Sometimes I think it would be easier if we could just host a picnic instead. But you know how it is." Mr. Fallon gave a small laugh.

"The political world." Jane nodded. "Oh, we know. Don't we, sweetheart?"

"Yes, we do." Lisbon smiled at him, hating herself for the blush that was darkening on her cheeks.

"Well, Sandy and I will be happy to have you there. Melody is of course welcome too. We set up a section for the kids so that we don't have to leave Ellie at home. It also gets her to meet lots of other kids."

"I'm sure Melody would love that." Jane smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that." Mr. Fallon looked back at the two girls playing video games in the bullpen. "Anyways. I should probably get out of your hair. You've probably got important things to do before you go home and make those cookies Melody mentioned."

"She mentioned the cookies?" Lisbon let out a small laugh.

"Yes. And she seems very excited."

"She loves her cookies." Jane nodded and the three left Lisbon's office and walked into the bullpen.

"Yay!" Melody clapped and cheered for Ellie. "You won! See? I told you!"

Ellie giggled with a huge grin on her face, very proud.

"Are you having fun, Ellie?" Mr. Fallon asked his daughter.

"Yes." Ellie nodded, looking at him. "I won Landicoot."

"_Bandicoot._" Melody corrected.

Ellie handed the gaming device back to Melody. "Do you have other games?"

"Yeah." Melody nodded unzipping Sir Stitch-a-Lot.

"There's not time for another game, Ellie." Mr. Fallon told her gently. "We have to go."

"Why?" Ellie pouted at her father.

"Because Melody and her parents have other things they're going to do today."

"But…" Ellie was very disappointed.

"Don't worry. You'll see Melody at the party on Saturday. They're going to go."

"Party?" Melody was confused, looking at Lisbon.

"We were invited to their party." Lisbon nodded.

"I'm going to your party!" Melody announced, throwing her arms around Ellie and enveloping her in a big hug.

Ellie was surprised at the sudden hug.

The adults laughed.

Both Ellie and Melody slipped off the couch. Ellie took her fathers hand and they said goodbye as they left.

"We'll walk you to the elevator." Jane told them.

"'Bye, Ellie." Melody waved at her new friend as she got into the elevator.

"'Bye, Melody." The other girl waved back. "I'll see you on Saturday."

"Yep. It's going to be fun!" Melody replied and the elevator doors shut.

"Well, this is going to be a very fun vacation." Jane said happily.

"You're lucky that I agree or I'd smack you." Lisbon told him.

"Tisk, tisk, Teresa." Jane shook his head smiling. "What did I say? Remember the feelings of others."

Lisbon just rolled her eyes.

"Can we make cookies now?" Melody asked looking up at them.

"I just have a little bit more work, then we can go to the store." Lisbon picked up her niece and headed back to her office, Jane close behind. "Maybe you can help Patrick pick a recipe."

-Mentalist-

The trio entered the grocery store holding hands with Melody in the middle. Lisbon didn't want her to wander off. She had a tendency to do that.

Lisbon pulled out the paper that had the recipe and instructions printed on it. "So the first thing we need is-"

"Flour." Jane interrupted before Lisbon could read it out, just to prove he had it memorized.

"Yeah, Mr. Smarty-pants." Lisbon shot him a glare. "Flour."

"'Mr. Smarty-pants'? I thought my name was Mr. Jane."

"Really?" Lisbon raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Because you seem to like being Mr. _Lisbon_. At least you seem a little eager to be."

Jane looked at her, surprised, and fighting to keep a blush off his cheeks. Then he grinned. "Touché, Lisbon. Touché. Well played."

Lisbon smiled and shrugged. "I try." They continued on to the isle with the flour. Lisbon didn't feel the need for a cart so just grabbed a basket.

"Which one looks the best?" Jane asked Melody. The flour was on the bottom shelf so Melody had a good view.

The young girl looked at all the identical bags thoughtfully. "Hm…" Melody reached out. "This one." She grabbed the bag and tried to pull it off the shelf but it was quite heavy.

"Here." Jane offered, trying to help Melody.

"No." Melody said firmly. "I can do this all by myself." She gave the bag another good yank and got it to the edge of the shelf. Then she tightly wrapped her arms around it and huffed as she managed to lift it. Barely. It was to go in the basket.

Quickly, Jane took it from her and held onto it himself. It was just a bit too heavy to put it in the basket. "You're very strong." Jane smiled and patted the little girls head.

Melody grinned. "Thank you."

They continued on and grabbed everything on their list before they went to the cash register. It didn't take long for them to buy their items and then headed back out to the car where the items were put in the trunk.

-Mentalist-

The three carried their items into the house after Lisbon unlocked the door and Jane closed it behind them. They placed the items on the kitchen table and counter.

"We should really give the others a call." Jane realised.

"What?" Lisbon asked.

"Van Pelt, Rigsby and Cho." Jane elaborated. "We should call and invite them to the zoo tomorrow. Cho's never even been."

Melody's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Cho never went to a zoo?"

"No." Jane shook his head. "You guys get everything ready. I'm going to go make the calls." And with that Jane pulled out his cell phone and went into the living room.

When he returned a few minutes later Melody and Lisbon had everything they needed set out on the kitchen counter. Lisbon lifted Melody up so the girl could wash her hands then put her down to do the same. Jane was the last to wash his hands.

"Okay. So the first thing it says to do is mix the sugar and flour together." Lisbon read off the instructions.

Jane went over to the bag of flour. "Alright." He pulled on the top to make it open but it was being stubborn. He pulled harder and it still wasn't working. Jane grunted as he tried again.

"Here. Let me help." Lisbon walked over and joined him after she placed Melody to sit on one of the chairs waiting with a measuring cup.

"No, it's okay." Jane told her trying to shield the bag from her with his body. "I've got it. I can do it."

"Seriously, Jane. Let me help." Lisbon insisted, trying to step around him but he kept getting in her way. "Jane!"

"Teresa!"

"Just let me help!" Lisbon snapped, reaching around Jane and grabbing one of the top corners of the bag.

"I'm fine. I can do-" but he didn't get a chance to finish. They both pulled on the bag and it exploded open, covering them both in white baking flour.

They both stood still for a moment. Stuck in their tableau of surprise. Melody slapped her hands over her mouth and tried not to laugh too loudly. Then Lisbon coughed and shook her head to try and get rid of some of the flour. Jane just wiped at the flour on his face.

"Well…" Jane finally said. "You got to help. It's open now. Thank you."

"Ugh. Everything is a mess." Lisbon groaned, trying to get some of the flour out of her bangs.

"Nah." Jane said casually. "It's fine."

"Well, then you can clean it up by yourself." Lisbon retorted.

"We'll clean it up later." Jane rolled his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Melody had gotten off of her chair and ran over to where they were. There was still a hint of a giggle in her tone.

"Yeah, fine." Lisbon smiled down at her, rubbing at some of the flour that was on her face.

"We should start making the cookies now." Melody told them.

"Yes." Jane nodded. "Yes, we should." He ignored the fact that he was still basically covered in flour and started filling the measuring cup with the appropriate amount. The three were hard at work making the cookies that Melody claimed were going to be the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

"Okay. Add the egg, Melody." Lisbon instructed, handing Melody one of the eggs.

Melody took the egg and tried to tap it lightly on the side of the bowl. Instead, she ended up smashing it against the side of the bowl and its contents oozed out all over her hand. She looked very disappointed, surprised and upset. Why didn't it open nicely? She tried to rub the egg off with her other hand but only managed to get both her hands covered in egg. "Oh, no." She pouted and her eyebrows furrowed.

Jane handed Lisbon a wet paper towel that he just retrieved and Lisbon wiped Melody's hands clean.

"There you go." Lisbon said as she finished wiping Melody's hands. "All better." She went to throw out the paper towel. "Maybe I'll just add the eggs." She suggested.

"But…I was supposed to."

"Well, then who's going to lick the spoons?" Lisbon asked.

"You can add the eggs." Melody said quickly.

Jane just laughed.

It didn't take long for them to have the cookies in the oven.

"What do we do while we wait?" Melody asked as Lisbon shut the oven door.

"You can have your nap." Lisbon told her.

"I don't want a nap." Melody protested, shaking her head.

"But you're already late for your nap."

"No." Melody frowned.

Jane gasped. "Why not? Don't you want the cookies to turn out well?"

Melody looked up at him confused. "I want the cookies to be the bestest."

"Well, how do you expect them to turn out well if you won't have your nap? The cookie elves can't do their job if you're not sleeping."

Melody gave him a skeptical look. "There's no such thing as cookie elves."

"Yes there is. And they can't work if young children are watching them. Young children are the only ones that can see them and they're incredibly shy."

Melody continued to give him a skeptical look. "Oookkaaayyy…" she looked at Lisbon. "I guess I should go for my nap."

Lisbon took the girl's hand and they made their way upstairs and Jane began to clean up the kitchen.

"He doesn't actually believe that there are cookie elves, does he?" Melody asked when they were about half way up the stairs.

"No." Lisbon smiled. "I don't think he does."

"He just wanted me to take a nap, didn't he?"

Lisbon's smile widened. "Yeah, I think so."

Melody sighed. "Cookie elves." Melody shook her head in disbelief.

Lisbon chuckled. She got Melody changed in to some new clothes that weren't dirtied from making cookies and then walked her across the hall.

"My room is over there." Melody pointed to the room they'd just left. "This is your room."

"Well I need to change the sheets on your bed, so you can use mine for now."

"Oh. Okay."

Lisbon tucked Melody in and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll wake you up in a little bit."

"Okay." Melody snuggled into the pillow and closed her eyes.

Lisbon quietly left and went back downstairs into the kitchen where Jane was finishing off cleaning the counter. "she didn't believe you, you know." Lisbon smirked.

Jane threw the dirt into the garbage can and turned to look at Lisbon. "What do you mean?"

"Melody. She knows you lied just to get her to take a nap."

"Well, she still took her nap." He smiled and shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." Lisbon sighed as she went to start on the dishes.

Jane moved to help by drying them. "So this is going to be fun." He smiled.

"What do you mean?"

Jane shrugged. "Having Melody here. I mean, I knew it was going to be entertaining, but it's even more fun than I anticipated." Jane smiled slyly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Jane chuckled.

"Seriously!"

But he didn't answer her question.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon and Jane had both cleaned up-the kitchen and themselves from the flour-changed the sheets on Melody's bed and started laundry before they woke Melody up.

"Are they done?" Melody asked excitedly as she bounded into the kitchen with Lisbon following behind.

Jane was taking the cookies off the baking tray and putting them on plates. This was the third tray that had finished. "They look good. And smell good." He picked one up from the first batch since they were cooled down and handed it to Melody. He wasn't going to tell her that he and Lisbon had already snuck one while she was napping. She'd probably never nap again.

Melody happily took the cookie and chopped down on it. "Yummy." She said around a mouthful of cookie.

"Well that's good." Lisbon smiled, grabbing three cups and filling them with milk before she placed them on the table.

When the final tray was empty Jane grabbed three small plates and put two cookies on each. Making sure the oven was turned off, Jane took the plates and placed one each next to the glasses of milk.

Lisbon helped Melody onto her chair and then took a seat herself, followed by Jane. "You like them?" Lisbon asked Melody.

"Yeah!" Melody dunked one of her cookies in the milk, took a bite and then continued to babble about how good the cookies were and how much fun she had making them. The adults nodded and agreed, occasionally adding input.

Jane nudged Lisbon's foot under the table.

Lisbon nudged back, unsure what he was trying to tell her by that.

The corners of Jane's mouth twitched, wanting to smile as he nudged her foot again to see what she'd do.

When she retaliated again, it was harder for Jane to hold the smile back. She was too stubborn to lose at something even as juvenile as 'footsy'.

"Oh, Teresa." He thought. "You do entertain me."

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's it for now. Please leave a comment telling me what you think, it's much appreciated. See you for the next chapter. :3  
**


	9. Look!

**Author's Note: Hello, again! Here is chapter nine! Shout outs and thank yous to: CookiesForMe, Guest, Ins Fernando, Marcia Santos, Guest, GraceVanPeltFan4ever, bL00D pRINC3SS, Jessica, Ciisa, Berkwood Court, House ever, Linn, lehcar1s, deadzonebiotch, LAurore and everyone else who commented!  
**

* * *

The next day Lisbon and Jane woke Melody up at 9:30 in the morning to get ready for the zoo. Lisbon let Melody pick out her outfit and change. Lisbon was already changed and waiting in the bathroom for Melody to join her so that she could brush her hair and teeth while Jane was downstairs making breakfast.

"Done." Melody said as she walked into the bathroom. She was dressed in a brightly coloured polka-dotted tank top and dark wash jean shorts.

"Alright." Lisbon smiled and picked up Melody's hair brush. "Brush your hair and I'll tie it back. Then we'll brush your teeth and go have breakfast." She handed the brush to Melody.

The younger girl took it and quickly brushed her hair then turned so that Lisbon could tie her hair back.

Lisbon debated for a moment what to do. She decided to braid Melody's hair into two low braids and turned the girl to face her when she was done. "There." She smiled. "Now we just need to brush your teeth."

Melody did so and the pair made their way downstairs into the kitchen, which smelled good with the promise of a yummy breakfast.

"Morning." Jane looked over his shoulder from the stove and smiled at them. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a light blue t-shirt.

"Good morning, Patrick." Melody chirped and hurried over to her usual place at the table and climbed onto the seat, waiting patiently.

"Need some help?" Lisbon asked as she walked over to join Jane at the stove.

"Pass me a plate?"

Lisbon grabbed the plate that was on top of the three-plate stack and held it out to him.

He scooped some scrambled eggs onto it, then added two strips of bacon and a slice of toast. "For Melody. Ketchup's already on the table."

"Okay." Lisbon carried the plate over to the table and placed it in front of Melody. "Oder up." Then she put some ketchup on the eggs and buttered the toast.

"Yay!" Melody picked up her fork and began to dig in.

Lisbon added more orange juice to Melody's cup since Melody had appeared to already have chugged half of it. She headed back to join Jane at the stove once again.

"Take your pick." Jane told her as he finished dishing out the remaining eggs between the last two plates.

"Hhhmmm…" Lisbon put a finger to her cheek, pretending to think. "I'll take this one." She grabbed the one on her right.

"As you wish." Jane picked up the last one, following Lisbon back to the table. _Green looks nice on her_, Jane thought looking at the dark green fitted t-shirt she was wearing and the black basketball shorts she had put on. _Very nice_.

-Mentalist-

They parked the car in the zoo parking lot and got out. Lisbon got Melody out of the car seat as Jane got the shoulder bag from the trunk. There were three water bottles, two bottles of sunscreen, towels, a digital camera and bathing suits in the bag. James would kill Lisbon if she didn't take any pictures. Lisbon had already lathered Melody up in sunscreen before they left, much to the young girl's displeasure. They walked up to the front gates.

"Van Pelt said they're waiting for us at the gate." Lisbon told Jane as she checked her phone. It didn't take long for them to spot their friends, who waved when they saw them coming. Sarah was pushing a stroller with Benjamin in it with Rigsby standing next to her while Cho and Van Pelt stood near them.

"Hi guys!" Van Pelt said cheerfully and hurried over to give the three a hug.

They all said their hello's, got in line, paid for their wrist bands and went into the zoo.

"I still don't understand why I just paid to look at animals." Cho said in his usual stoic voice.

"Because the animals are really cool." Melody told him as she skipped along next to Lisbon, holding her aunt's hand.

"Of course they are." Cho kept looking ahead.

"What shall we do first?" Jane asked, opening the zoo map he had grabbed from the front desk.

"Maybe the tigers?" Melody suggested. "Or the wolves. Or the bears. Do they have monkeys? Or penguins!" Melody jumped up and down. "The penguins!"

Jane laughed. "One thing at a time, Melody."

"Penguins!" Melody looked up at him intently.

"We need to know what everyone else wants to go see as well." Lisbon told her gently.

Melody looked at the rest of the group. "Do you want to see the penguins too?"

"Pen'gins!" Benjamin cheered from his stroller seat. "Pen'gins!"

Rigsby laughed. "I guess we're all in for penguins, then."

Melody cheered excitedly and Jane gave them the direction that they needed to go. Lisbon had to quickly grab Melody's hand before the little girl took off and got lost.

The group walked into the big, very well air-conditioned, building.

"Look, Teresa!" Melody pointed, jumping up and down. "Look! The penguins!"

"Yeah, I see them!" Lisbon gasped excitedly, quickening her pace before Melody pulled her arm off.

Melody giggled as she ran up to the glass barrier that looked down on the penguins and pressed herself against it trying to get a better look.

Rigsby and Sarah were busy getting Ben out of the stroller so he could see too, while Van Pelt was trying to get Cho to be a little bit more excited. Just a little. And that was proving very difficult.

"They're black and white and look exactly like the free pictures I've seen before." Cho said plainly.

Van Pelt groaned. "But it's so much more fun to see them in person!"

"It's the exact same as the pictures. Just colder." Cho replied.

Lisbon chuckled and picked the little girl up, holding her tightly as she leaned to see the penguins better. "Say hello to the penguins." Lisbon whispered in Melody's ear.

"Hello penguins!" Melody called down to the group of animals and waved at them.

One penguin that was waddling toward the water seemed to hear her and stopped to look up. It flapped one of its wings and then continued on its way to the water, diving in.

Melody's face lit up and she gasped. "Did you see that, Teresa!? Did you see that!? He waved at me back!" The young girl squealed and wiggled in excitement.

"Yeah, I did see that." Lisbon laughed. "He must have liked you." She looked at Jane, who was standing quite close to her she realised. "Get the camera, please?"

Jane did so and pressed the button to start it up. "Hey, Melody look over here."

Melody turned to look at him, still beaming with excitement.

Jane aimed the camera and took the picture. Melody had a huge smile on her face and Lisbon was still laughing, both looking at the camera. "Aw, what a cute picture." He chuckled.

"Let me see." Lisbon said, reaching for the camera with one hand.

Jane pulled the camera back, out of her reach. "Ah, ah." He shook his head. "Take my word for it. It's cute."

"I am not going to take your word for it and the fact that you won't show it to me suggests that it's really not." Lisbon retorted.

"Fine." Jane rolled his eyes, pulling up the picture and holding the camera out so that Lisbon could see it.

Lisbon scrunched up her nose. "I look horrible, delete it. Is that really what I look like today? My mirror lied."

Jane turned the camera back so he could see it, confused. Were they looking at the same picture? "I am not going to delete it. You look fine."

"No I don't." Lisbon argued.

"You look beautiful."

Lisbon blushed slightly. "That's not funny."

"I want to see." Melody held her hand out to see the picture. Jane showed her and she moved the camera to get a good look at it, brows furrowing in concentration. Then she let go of the camera and placed her little hands on Lisbon's cheeks, looking into her aunts eyes and seriously said, "you look beautiful, Teresa."

Lisbon's blush darkened as she smiled and kissed Melody's head. "Thank you. You are too."

"Oh, so you'll believe Melody but not me." Jane grumbled.

"Melody doesn't have a reputation of lying and cheating." Lisbon stuck out her tongue.

"Was that really necessary, Teresa?" Jane asked. "Must you always make me out to be such a horrible person?"

"Maybe." Lisbon smirked.

"You guys ready to see more animals?" Van Pelt asked, interrupting Jane and Lisbon's little argument.

"Yeah." Melody turned to Van Pelt and nodded. "Can we see the polar bears too?"

"Sure. We might as well, right? They're in the same building as the penguins." Van Pelt smiled.

-Mentalist-

"I liked the baby polar bear." Melody commented as the group left the arctic animals exhibit.

"She was very cute, wasn't she?" Lisbon held on to her niece's hand as they stepped out into the warm almost afternoon sunlight.

"But Daisy is a dumb name for a polar bear." Melody shook her head.

"I thought it was cute." Van Pelt put in.

Melody just shook her head.

"Well, what would you name your little girl polar bear?" Jane asked.

"Claw." Melody replied happily.

"That's…and interesting name to choose." Sarah commented.

"I think it makes sense." Melody told her.

"So where are we going next?" Jane asked, interrupting what was probably to be a long conversation and pulled out the map again. He hadn't had time to commit it to the memory palace yet.

"Hey. Maybe we can show Cho his first real live zebra." Rigsby joked.

"Cho's never seen a real zebra!?" Melody gasped looking at them all, eyes wide and mouth agape. "We have to let Cho see a real zebra, Teresa!"

"Alright, alright." Lisbon chuckled. "We'll go show Cho the zebras."

"Zebras are down…that way." Jane pointed to one of the paths to their left.

"Lets go then." Lisbon smiled and the group set off in that direction.

Melody skipped happily along between Lisbon and Jane. "Look!" She pointed at a little cart off to the side of the pathway.

"What?" Lisbon asked, looking.

"The hats." Melody smiled and hopped up and down.

"You like the hats?" Jane smiled down at her.

"Yeah." Melody nodded.

Lisbon turned to look at the rest of the group and smiled. "Go on ahead. We'll catch up. You too, Jane."

"But I have the camera." Jane waved said object in front of him. "I need to stay."

Lisbon just sighed and then turned to the rest of them. "I guess you all can go on without Jane as well."

Van Pelt smiled slightly at the double meaning. "Alright. See you up there."

The rest of the group nodded and continued walking as well.

Still holding onto Melody's hand, Lisbon made her way to the little cart and lifted Melody up so that the girl could see.

"Hello." The teenage boy sitting next to the cart said as they approached.

"Hello." Lisbon smiled back.

"Which do you like best, Melody?" Jane asked the young girl.

"Uuuuummmmm…" Melody examined all the hats that she saw. "That one." Melody pointed at a furry, round, black and white spotted sunhat up in the right corner of the cart display.

Jane reached up and grabbed it from its hook. Looking at it more closely, he noticed that it had a little panda face on the front. He plopped it on Melody's head to see how it looked.

Melody adjusted it a bit, looked up at him and then looked at Lisbon. "Do you like it?"

Lisbon smiled. "It's very cute."

"Hold on." Jane told them, grabbing something else off the cart. Melody turned to look at him and he slipped a pair of sunglasses onto her face. The frames were glittery, yellow and star-shaped. "Perfect."

Melody smiled brightly, even though she couldn't see how she looked.

"Wait." Jane said, grabbing something else off the cart.

"What?" Lisbon asked.

Jane plopped a big straw-weaved sunhat with a huge obnoxious yellow flower stuck to it on Lisbon's head. He then proceeded to turn the camera on and flash a picture just as Lisbon was about to yell at him.

"Jane!"

"Don't take the hat off!" He smacked her hand away. "I like it."

Lisbon rolled her eyes.

Melody giggled and pushed the rim from her face. "It's like an umbrella."

Jane stepped around to the boy sitting nearby. "How much for these?"

The boy looked at the items and punched the codes into the cash register. "Nineteen-fifty."

Jane rummaged around in the bag for his wallet and from the, produced a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change."

"Alright. Thank you. Have a nice day." the boy nodded.

"Come along, sweethearts." Jane said dramatically, ushering Lisbon forward to catch up with the others.

Lisbon sent him a glare. _Sweethearts_? Really? She decided to just roll her eyes and continue on, adjusting Melody to make carrying her more comfortable.

Jane lazily draped an arm over Lisbon's shoulders, but she was too busy talking with Melody to care. He smiled. Definitely a good day

* * *

**Author's Note: So I was asked before if I had a twitter account, as of right now I don't but if you would like I will make one. I was hoping to fit the zoo trip into one chapter but then I realised it would be really long so it's going to be more then one chapter. Either way, I hope you enjoyed and let me know what you think.  
**


	10. Imposter

**Author's Note: So, this chapter is kind of short. Sorry. But I felt it was best to end it where I did. Either way, there are more chapters to come, so I hope you will read those, too. Here goes this one!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

"Did you like the zebra's, Cho?" Melody asked as they walked down the brick path.

"Sure. They were very cute." Cho replied plainly.

Melody looked at her aunt, who was still wearing the huge sunhat with the flower. "He's lying to me, isn't he, Teresa?"

"I'm sure he's not." Lisbon looked down at Melody who was walking beside her.

Benjamin began to fuss a little bit in his stroller. "Hungwy!"

"How about lunch?" Rigsby piped up happily.

"Always with the food." Cho shook his head while Van Pelt just groaned.

"Well, we don't want hungry, cranky kids." Jane said. "Might as well have some lunch. I could do with some food, myself. It's almost noon. By the time we face the lines it will be noon anyway."

"Lunch it is." Sarah commented and the group looked around for the food court.

"What do you want?" Lisbon asked Melody, lifting the girl up again. "There's hotdogs, hamburgers, pizza, oh and there's subs. Tacos? They have tacos at the zoo? Whatever. Take your pick."

Melody looked at all the stands. Rigsby, Sarah and Benjamin were in line for a burger, Cho had chosen to get a sub and Van Pelt had wanted a hot dog. "Tacos. Last time I had tacos was long ago. Annabeth didn't want to make supper so we went to the taco restaurant. They were yummy tacos."

"I bet they were. Tacos it is. Jane, can you find us all a table?" Lisbon looked at her consultant.

"Don't I get food?"

"Tell me what you want and I'll order it for you." Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"But I want to go with you." Jane pouted.

"You're such a child." Lisbon rolled her eyes, but still smiled. They made their way over to the line and ordered.

The others had gotten their food and managed to find a table for them, so they slipped into their seats.

"So, what are we going to do after lunch?" Van Pelt asked.

"How about the show?" Jane asked.

"What show?" Sarah looked at the consultant, confused.

"The show that has fliers posted at the taco place. Look. There's a poster for it right behind you on that wall."

Everyone turned to see the big mural promoting the zoo's show that was painted on a big wall.

"I'm sure that the only thing worse than the zoo is the zoo show." Cho sighed. "I'll go get a coffee instead."  
"Cho. You haven't even seen a zoo show." Van Pelt shook her head. "You're being really pessimistic today."

"I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow." Cho shrugged.

"Well I think the show sounds fun. Doesn't it, Ben?" Sarah smiled at the one-year-old who giggled.

"I want to go to the show!" Melody cheered.

"Then it's off to the show we go." Jane smiled.

-Mentalist-

The seats were filling quite quickly now. It was a good thing they had gotten here early…a whole half an hour early. Melody and Benjamin had taken the time to nap. As a friendly gesture, Jane had bought Cho a book for the wait, which the agent seemed to be tearing through, despite the fact that he looked incredibly bored. Rigsby and Sarah seemed happily engaged in a conversation and Van Pelt was engrossed with some game on her phone. Lisbon was out getting a snack. She had decided that getting a snack and eating it would pass a bit of time, so Jane was holding onto Melody as she napped. He looked down at her and smiled.

Melody shifted and then slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She tilted her head upward and met his gaze.

"Have a nice nap?" Jane asked.

"Yeah." Melody nodded.

"That's good."

"'Scuse me, guys." Lisbon said as she scooted by the rest of the group to get to her seat. She carried some Skittles and M&M's. "Next time, lets get seats closer to the top, the stairs are really crowded now." Lisbon told Jane as she sat down.

"But these are basically front row seats." Jane defended.

Lisbon grumbled and opened the bag of M&M's. "Hello." Lisbon smiled when she noticed Melody was awake. "Sleep well?"

"Mhm." Melody nodded. "Can I have some?" She cupped her hands together and held them out to Lisbon.

"Sure." Lisbon poured a few of the colourful chocolates into her hands and Melody happily ate them.

After a few minutes the bag was empty and the lights dimmed while a drum roll started.

"Hhhheeeeellllloooooo, ladies and gentleman!" a voice was heard over the speakers as spot lights glided across the stage curtains. "Welcome to the Sacramento zoo show! We ask that you turn off your cell phones, as they are distracting to other audience members. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the show!" The curtains rose to reveal a man in a tan coloured uniform, holding a microphone with a blanketed box next to him.

"How is everyone today?" the man asked.

There was a chorus of positive answers throughout the crowd.

"That's good. I am Dave, I'm the host of this show." He grabbed the blanket on the box next to him. "And this"-he yanked the blanket off- "is Sunny." There was a big, bright yellow snake in the see-through box.

Melody's eyes grew in fascination.

Dave continued on about the snake and got it to do some tricks. Then he brought out a magician to perform some more tricks, both with Sunny and some other animals. Jane refrained from outwardly snickering at the magician so that Melody could enjoy the show. "May I have some volunteers from the audience?" Dave asked towards the end of the show.

A tsunami of "_ME!_"s erupted from the audience, including Melody.

"MMMMEEEEEE!" Melody flailed around, trying to stand up.

Jane picked Melody up and held her above his head, Lion King style as she continued to yell out and flail her arms.

"You!" Dave pointed at some other people. "And you!" He pointed at someone else.

"MMMEEEEEE!" Melody yelled. "ME! ME! ME! ME!"

"And you!" He finally pointed at Melody.

Melody squealed as Jane put her down. Lisbon was nervous as she got up to go onstage with Melody. She saw Jane whisper something in Melody's ear and could swear she heard the word '_game_' which did nothing to calm her nerves. Jane grabbed her hand and pulled her up to the stage, following Melody.

Dave went down the line and got everyone to introduce themselves. "And what's your name?" He asked Melody, then held out the microphone for her to speak into.

"Melody."

"And who do you have with you?"

Melody looked up at Jane and Lisbon, then back at Dave and answered.

"Don't say it. Don't say it." Lisbon mentally begged. "_Please_ don't-"

"My mommy and my daddy."

"Crap! She said it!" Lisbon inwardly groaned. "Why?"

Dave stood over to the side. "Okay. This is how you play. I will say an animal and you all have to pretend to be that animal. After, I will ask the audience who they thought was best. Winners get free tickets to pet the stingrays!"

Melody looked up at her 'parents' excitedly. Lisbon really, _really_ didn't want to do this. However, she couldn't refuse and give up the tickets that Melody clearly wanted to win and was probably going to try and get.

"I'm going to hurt you severely." Lisbon said through a smile of gritted teeth as she leaned into Jane.

"Come now, honey." Jane smiled teasingly and placed an arm on her shoulders. "There's no need to be angry. We're here to have fun, remember?"

Lisbon opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted.

"Lion!" Dave called through the microphone.

Immediately, the competitors on stage burst into their best lion impressions. Melody made her hands look like claws and scratched the air, roaring and running around in little circles. Jane's impression was kind of similar. Lisbon had a decision to make. She could look stupid and win, or look like a spoilsport and/or stupid and lose. The choice was clear. She also did her very best (and obviously ridiculous looking) lion impression.

After a few minutes Dave stopped them and the audience voted in cheers. A few people were eliminated and then the remaining people were given another animal.

"Chicken!"

"_Really_!?" Lisbon's mind screamed. "_Chicken_!?" This was in front of her entire team! And…how many other people were in the audience? Oh, god! Nevertheless, she did her best imitation. At least Melody and Jane seemed to be having fun up here. She knew that she wasn't.

This continued until there were only two remaining families. Lisbon, Melody and Jane versus a boy about two or three years older than Melody and his parents.

"Ready for the last animal?" Dave asked.

"Yeah!" Melody and the boy answered at the same time.

"Alright." Dave said, pausing for effect. "The final animal is…an octopus!"

They all began their octopus impressions. Melody waved her arms around and wiggled as she walked. From the looks of it, the boy on the other team was very competitive and tried to outdo Melody's impression. Melody in turn tried to up his upping of her own impression. After a few minutes, Jane realised that the crowd was very undecided about who should win. They weren't as vocal as before. That could potentially be really bad.

"Lisbon." he whispered to her while still impersonating an octopus.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

Lisbon sent him a skeptical look. "I'm not sure."

"Do you want to win?"

"Yes. Obviously. You think I would have done any of this if I didn't?" Lisbon hissed.

"Fair enough. I know we can win, but you have to trust me."

"Fine." Lisbon grumbled, not sure she was going to like his idea. "But no dirty play."

"Of course not." Jane scoffed. "Okay. Here we go."

"Go?" Lisbon asked, but her question of what Jane was planning was soon answered.

Jane grabbed her hand and spun her, then pulled her against him and pressed his lips to hers.

Lisbon was frozen in shock. She tried to force her mind into doing something, but couldn't manage to make it work. It was like a computer stuck at _buffering_.

The crowd burst into loud cheers, applause and woof-woof whistles.

"Well, I think we have our winners." Dave said, laughing.

With that, Jane let Lisbon go and she hoped that she could blame her dark blush on the heat of the lights, or that the lights drowned it out. She caught sight of Melody who was just starting at them confused, shocked and maybe a little horrified. Her eyes were wide and her jaw had dropped.

The entire crowd continued to cheer for Lisbon and Jane. Lisbon pulled Melody over and picked her up, the look of surprise and confusion never left the girl's face. Jane grabbed the free tickets from Dave and then headed back to their seats.

"Well, that's all for the show today!" Dave announced. "Come back again soon! We look forward to your next visit. And have a great day at the Sacramento zoo!"

Lisbon was too horrified to want to come back again soon. Her face was still beat red, she could feel it and she tried to force it away to little avail. This was a bad idea. A _very_ bad idea. Not the zoo in general, but the show. No. Not even seeing the show. Going up on stage with Jane. Maybe if it hadn't been up on stage, in front of her team-plus Sarah!- and god only knows how many other people, she wouldn't have been so embarrassed. Maybe it wouldn't have seemed like such a big. But it _was_ on stage. And it _was_ in front of her team _and_ a bunch of other people. And it was also in front of _Melody_! If the Earth could just open up and swallow her whole now, she would greatly appreciate it. However, the earth didn't seem to have an appetite for Teresa Lisbon and as a result she was going to have to answer all of Melody's questions and face her friend's teasing.

* * *

**Author's Note: Bam! Sorry, it's a little cliffy, I know. I didn't want some kind of boring ending. I figured that I would make a twitter (ColourfulGliter) since it might make it easier for some people to know when stories have been updated. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, and that you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think! :)  
**

**Also, thank you to those who read my other Mentalist fanfic "Here I Am". I might add to it, but I'm not sure yet.  
**


	11. Not So Bad

**Author's Note: I'm back! With another chapter for you all! I am sorry it took me this long to update, I was hoping to finish this chapter sooner, but for some reason I haven't been as productive in my writing as I was hoping I would be. I'm really happy that I've made it to eleven chapters so far and that you all seem to like it! I'm still writing for you guys. Don't give up on me, please :P! Also, I didn't say it in the last chapter's author's note but the kiss was for House ever. I just thought I should say that. Anyway. Here's chapter 11!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

Lisbon found a small corner near the show building's wall that was void of people and luckily in the shade. The rest of the group was smart enough to keep their distance and let the Lisbon's rejoin them in a moment. They already had an unspoken agreement that they would simply not speak about what had happened- though Van Pelt had some pictures from the show and she wasn't going to delete them. They were way too funny to delete. However, the last thing they wanted(or needed) was an angry Teresa Lisbon. So they all stayed out of it for now. Well…the rest of the group minus Jane who was debating whether he should go join the two or not. Then he decided that he actually was a fan of living. So he remained with the rest of the group.

Lisbon placed Melody on the ground and crouched down in front of her.

Melody stood with her hands clasped behind her back and stared at her feet while she fidgeted. Neither really said anything for a moment.

"Melody?"

The little girl lifted her eyes cautiously to meet her aunt's, peering through her lashes. "Yes, Teresa?"

"Are you okay?"

Melody gave a small quick nod and looked back at her feet.

"You sure?"

Melody glanced over at the crowds of moving people before looking back up at her aunt. "Are you and Patrick getting married?"

A look of complete shock crossed Lisbon's face and she cursed mentally as the had-been fading blush returned. "Wh-huh-no. Why would you think that?"

"Because everyone kisses people they marry." Melody looked at her aunt innocently. "Ariel and Eric. Belle and the beast. Cinderella and-"

"Patrick and I are not getting married. We just wanted to win the contest." Lisbon explained.

"Why did you want to win so badly?"

"You really wanted those tickets." Lisbon took Melody's little hands in her own. "Didn't you want those tickets?"

Melody nodded.

"See?"

"But-" Melody began and then paused.

"_But_?"

Melody's feet shifted again. "Are you sure?"

"Sure of what?"

"You and Patrick aren't dating? Annabeth said"-Lisbon inwardly groaned at those words- "you two are 'sposed to be boyfriend girlfriend."

"Why didn't you ask me about that before?" Lisbon was confused. Melody was the type to ask questions about everything. She was four after all.

"She didn't sound serious. And I never saw you kiss so I thought she was tricking me. Once she tricked me to eating my brust-sprouts. They were really gross, Teresa. Please don't ever make me eat brust-sprouts."

"I promise I won't make you eat brussel sprouts." Lisbon smiled.

"Good." Melody nodded. "So…it wasn't true love kiss?"

"Huh?"

"Patrick and you."

"We-I-uh. I don't know." Lisbon shook her head.

Melody's eyebrows furrowed and she tilted her head. "You don't know? But I thought it was 'sposed to be clear and magical."

"Not when it's a surprise, it's not." Lisbon shook her head.

"He surprised you?"

"Yeah."

"But that means he loves you?" Melody said curiously.

"I-I don't know, Melody. You'll have to ask him yourself." As soon as the words left her mouth, Lisbon wished she hadn't said them. Melody went to move but Lisbon pulled her attention back to their conversation. "_Later_, though. After today. In private."

"Okay." Melody nodded, with a hint of determination in her voice. She was going to remember.

Lisbon stood back up and the pair made their way over to the rest of the group.

"The Lisbon conference over?" Jane teased lightly.

Lisbon glared at him. Her cheeks were still pink, but she was going to claim the beginnings of a sunburn and completely deny a blush.

"How about we go see the grizzly bears and wolves next?" Rigsby suggested to draw attention away from what was clearly on everyone's mind.

"Yeah, but after, can we go to the water park?" Van Pelt asked. "It's really warm out here.

-Mentalist-

"Done?" Lisbon called to Melody who was in one of the changing stalls.

"Yep." Melody emerged in her bathing suit with her clothes wadded up into a ball. Her bathing suit top and bottom didn't match. The top was like a spaghetti strapped shirt with colourful stripes while the bottom was neon-yellow with neon-green polka-dots. Melody handed the clothes to Lisbon who folded them roughly and put them into Van Pelt's bag. The red haired agent had been nice enough to share her bag since Jane had theirs, though Lisbon had grabbed everything they needed. The day had been decent after what had happened. She didn't enjoy the small bouts of teasing that she occasionally heard between the group, but she could take it.

Van Pelt was fixing the strap of her black bikini top and then finished applying her sunscreen. Sarah had already changed and was waiting outside for Rigsby and Benjamin. "Ready?" Van Pelt asked.

"Almost." Lisbon grabbed the sunscreen bottle and Melody turned to run but didn't quite make it. Lisbon managed to grab Melody and pulled her up to sit on the change room bench next to her. It was a bit of a battle, but Lisbon managed to lather Melody up in sunscreen for the second time that day. Before she gave her okay to leave she checked her own dark blue bikini to make sure it looked okay.

When they were done they exited the change room with their things to meet the group at the locker rentals where they split into groups and got their lockers. Cho wore some black swim trunks with a grey dragon on them, Rigsby had some red swim trunks and Jane had on dark green swim trunks. Their pairings were Lisbon, Melody and Van Pelt in one locker, Jane and Cho in another with Rigsby, Sarah and Benjamin in a third one. They managed to get lockers relatively close to each other. With Jane around, Lisbon for some reason felt really exposed in her bathing suit and tried to grab her t-shirt out of the bag, but Van Pelt wouldn't let her, insisting she was fine.

"And off to the water park we go." Jane said cheerily.

They all headed out and soon came across the lazy river.

"Oh, we have to go on that." Van Pelt gasped.

Sadly, Benjamin was not able to go on the ride so Sarah and Rigsby told them they would take him to the little kids section and promised to meet up with the rest of them later.

Melody was fortunate enough to barely sneak onto the ride but had to share a tube with Lisbon which she didn't seem to mind.

"Hahaha!" Melody giggled as she leaned over the side of the tube and splashed her hands in the water. Lisbon held her so that she didn't fall off until Melody settled back against her and they continued down the lazy river.

It was nice, Lisbon decided. The lazy river. It was really relaxing…except for Melody's tendency to occasionally almost throw herself overboard to splash the water. But right now, with Melody securely snuggled against her, Lisbon relaxed, dangling her hands over the side of the tube so they skimmed the water. She felt someone take her hand and she looked in the direction to see Jane floating next to her in his own tube.

"Having fun yet?" he asked, smiling mischievously.

"Yeah." Lisbon tried to reply as nonchalantly as possible as heat rose to her cheeks. Wow…the sun…was warm. Yeah. It…was the sun burning her cheeks.

"Waterfall!" Melody called, pointing up ahead at a small waterfall.

"Oh, no." Lisbon shook her head. She did not want to be doused with freezing cold water. She tried to paddle away with her feet, but Jane pushed off the wall still holding her hand and dragged her under the waterfall. Lisbon let out a scream as she used her free arm to hold Melody close as the cold water spilled over them.

Melody let out a laughing scream and then just continued to laugh as they emerged from the waterfall.

Jane let out a humored yelp, not expecting the water to be as cold as it was, and then laughed.

Lisbon brushed her bangs out of her face then wiped some water away from her eyes and looked down at Melody who was smiling back up at her. "You alright there? That was really cold."

"It was really cold!" Melody snuggled against her.

"Wanna swim back and go under it again?" Jane asked Melody.

"Can we?" Melody looked hopeful.

"No." Lisbon glared at Jane. "We can't. And, I don't want to."

"Aw." Jane pouted.

"So, how cold was the waterfall?" Van Pelt asked as she floated up near them, completely untouched by the waterfall.

"Freezing!" Lisbon shivered.

"That's why I went around it." Cho said simply.

Lisbon huffed then saw the end of the river up ahead.

They all got off the ride quickly and continued on their way. The next thing they decided to go to was the wave pool.

"Yay!" Melody ran into the water and was bowled over by a wave. She stood back up and laughed.

The four adults wadded in as well. Cho and Van Pelt swam out to the deeper area while Lisbon and Jane stayed behind to play with Melody.

"I know something that would be fun!" Jane said after splashing around for a while.

"No." Lisbon said casually.

"But you never even heard what I-"

"No."

"Oh, come-"

"_No_."

Jane huffed.

"Remember if you asked if I trusted you? My answer is not right now."

"Aw, Teresa. Don't be like that." Jane wadded over and gave her a tight hug which she tried to wriggle out of to no avail.

Melody was luckily involved in a game with another child which involved a pink ball.

"Honestly, Jane. You haven't embarrassed me enough today?" Lisbon stopped struggling because she realised it only encouraged him.

"Nope." Jane smiled and picked her up bridal-style.

"Jane!" Lisbon gasped. "Put me down!"

Jane only chuckled.

"Jane! Put. Me. D-AH!" Lisbon didn't even get to finish. The next thing she knew, she was sailing through the air and managed to plug her nose and hold her breath as she hit the water. She pushed her hair out of her face as she stood up, returning to the surface.

"Whoa!" Melody swam over using a very clumsy doggy-paddle. Jane and Lisbon had ventured into slightly deeper water and Melody couldn't quite touch the bottom. The young girl paddled over to Jane who was closer and he picked her up. "That looked like fun!"

"You want me to toss you too?" Jane asked.

"Yeah!" Melody nodded.

"_No_." Lisbon interjected.

"But I want to." Melody frowned.

"You could get hurt." Lisbon told her.

"I promise I won't."

"You can't make that promise."

"On three." Jane whispered to Melody.

"What?" Lisbon asked, she hadn't heard what he'd said.

"One." Jane whispered. "Two." Jane tossed Melody up. "Three!"

Melody giggled and then held her breath as she splashed into the water.

Lisbon hurried over and picked Melody up who was laughing. "Jane!" Lisbon hissed.

"She's fine! She's happy even!" Jane defended. "Jeez. You want me to cover her in bubble wrap for you? Make her a suit of pillows maybe?"

Lisbon just glared.

"Are you mad, Teresa?" Melody asked when she had managed to stop laughing.

"No. It's alright." Lisbon didn't want Melody to see her upset.

"Shall there be another round?" Jane asked.

"Oh my god." Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"Even at the zoo." Cho shook his head, talking to Van Pelt. "They still fight like an old married couple.

Van Pelt laughed and glanced over to their boss. "I'm willing to bet that the ones that fight like that are the ones that are the most in love still."

-Mentalist-

"Why do I have to wash my whole arm?" Melody asked as she followed the instructions.

"You have to reach in really far to get to the stingrays and you have to have clean hands and arms." Lisbon explained. It was now four and the trio was getting ready to pet the stingrays. Lisbon didn't feel so overexposed anymore like she had in her bathing suit. They lined up with everyone else next to the stingray pool and looked in to see the dark forms of the stingrays swimming around.

The instructor told them a little bit about stingrays and how to pet them before the group was allowed to dip their hands in.

"It's so soft and smooth." Melody smiled brightly as a stingray swam by and grazed her palm.

"Yeah?" Lisbon tentatively stuck her hand in and smiled when a stingray grazed her knuckles. "Oh, they are."

It was actually a tight squeeze around the pool. Apparently the stingrays were very popular. Nevertheless, Jane managed to fish out the camera and snap a few photos before their time was up.

"Bye, bye little stingrays." Melody waved before she, Lisbon and Jane were ushered out of the room with the rest of the crowd to make room for the next bunch.

Lisbon pulled her phone out of her back pocket and checked it. "Rigsby says that they all went to see the giraffes, then they're going to see the flamingos."

"I want to see those to!" Melody said excitedly.

"Well then off we go." Jane picked Melody up and they went to catch up with the rest of their group.

-Mentalist-

"Bye!" Lisbon, Jane and Melody waved to the others as they all split up to go back to their cars. The sun was just about set, Benjamin had fallen asleep and Melody was on her way to passing out. Jane carried Melody and they made it back to their car. Lisbon popped the trunk for Jane to put the bag in after handing Melody over to Lisbon who put the younger girl in her car seat.

"Well, that was a really fun day." Jane smiled as he climbed into the passenger seat.

Lisbon was already putting on her seat belt and about to start the engine. "Yeah." There was a small smile on her lips.

"You don't seem fully happy." Jane commented.

Lisbon glanced over to him. "I have things to think about. Forgive me for being a bit distracted."

"What are you thinking about?" Jane questioned.

"Nothing in particular." Heat rose to Lisbon's cheeks.

"_Nothing_?"

"Wow. You understand English?" Lisbon teased.

"Because I love you," Jane smirked "I'm going to let that slide and not take it personally."

"So brave." Lisbon replied sarcastically, smiling. Then she started the car and they headed home.

"So…" Lisbon interrupted the silence when they stopped at a red light. Melody had officially fallen asleep in the back seat. "Earlier…"

"Yes?"

"Well…I was just…um…" the light turned green and Lisbon continued driving. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"If you want to say something, I'm going to listen." Jane shrugged.

"No." Lisbon sighed. "I don't want to yet."

They drove the rest of the way home in silence and even getting inside the house they barely said a word. They had their routine. After putting Melody to bed and getting ready herself, Lisbon sat on the side of her bed for a moment reflecting on her day. It really hadn't been a bad day. Her bedroom door opened and Jane strolled in, closing it gently behind him and then made his way to the other side of the bed and flopped down.

"Um…?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"What?" Jane curled up under the covers. "You don't expect me to go back to sleeping on that couch do you? After this luxury?"

"I thought you liked couches better."

"You know what they say, Teresa. Once you try a bed…you realise couches aren't as good. Forgive me, I couldn't think of anything that rhymed." Jane smiled. "I'm all clever-ed out right now."

Lisbon smirked and shook her head, lying down on her side. It was _her_ bed. She wasn't going to surrender it. "Goodnight." she told Jane as she turned off her bedside lamp.

"Goodnight, Teresa." Jane smiled.

* * *

**Author's Note: That's it for now! ****Thanks for reading!** Hopefully I am more productive with my writing for the next chapter and can have it up faster. :)  



	12. Spinning

**Author's Note: Yay! Chapter twelve is here! Thanks again for all of your guy's continued support and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

"Teresa!"

Lisbon felt the mattress move a bit as Melody climbed onto it and gently shook her shoulder.

"Teresa! Teresa, get up!"

"Mnh." Lisbon grumbled as she opened one eye to peer up at Melody. "What?"

"Get up." Melody smiled at her and shook her shoulder again. "Hurry. Breakfast is almost done and Patrick has a surprise!"

Oh, no. _Jane_ had a surprise for her. She got up anyway and followed Melody downstairs to the kitchen where she could smell breakfast. Eggs, coffee, toast. It smelled good.

"Morning, m'lady." Jane said over his shoulder, smiling at her.

"Morning." she ignored the 'm'lady' part and smiled back. "Breakfast smells good."

"I thought the smell would have woken you up. Or that you would have been up long ago. I'm surprised I had to get Melody to wake you up."

Lisbon was confused. It wasn't that late, was it? She glanced at the kitchen clock. Eleven!? She had slept in until eleven? She must have been more tired then she thought. She sat at the table with Melody and the three were soon eating happily.

"And what's this surprise?" Lisbon asked as she entered the living room since she had been the last to shower and get dressed.

"Go get in the car and I'll show you."

"Jane." Lisbon groaned. "Just _tell _me."

"What's the fun in that?" Jane laughed.

Melody slid off the couch to go get her shoes on. She wanted to see what the surprise was.

"Melody's excited." Jane gestured to the young girl.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and went to get her shoes on as well. "I'm driving."

"What? No, I'm going to drive."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"It's my car."

"And why can't we take _my_ car?" Jane countered.

Lisbon just looked at him. "No." She said very seriously. "I'm not letting Melody get in that metal death trap that you call a car."

"But you will allow yourself to be driven around it."

"That is completely different! I need to think about her safety." Lisbon retorted.

Jane fake coughed and not-so-subtly incorporated '_mama bear Lisbon_'.

Lisbon rolled her eyes again. "That's not going to make me change my mind. We could just not go at all if that's really what you want."

"No! Fine." Jane sighed, but he wasn't really angry. It was Lisbon. He couldn't ever _really_ be mad at her. "You drive."

"Thank you." Lisbon nodded and they all left.

-Mentalist-

"Okay. Take the right up here." Jane instructed and Lisbon did. Jane glanced into the back seat. Melody was lulled to sleep by the gentle sway of the car. Jane had to hand it to her, she was good at napping. She was wearing the sunglasses and hat that he'd gotten her at the zoo as well as a _Cookie Monster_ t-shirt, pink shorts and sneakers. The shoulder bag that Jane had re-packed for this trip sat on the seat next to Melody.

"Really?" Lisbon asked as their destination came into view with it's rides and colourful stripped tents.

"Don't act like it's such a bad place." Jane told her.

Lisbon pulled into a parking space between two other cars and turned off the engine. "If you recall, they don't even like me here." She undid her seatbelt.

"What? Of course they like you."

Lisbon paused, her hand on the door handle, to turn and give Jane a look that clearly told him that she didn't believe that.

"They do." Jane repeated. "You're with me."

"I somehow get the feeling they don't even really like you anymore."

Jane just sighed and they both got out of the car.

Lisbon opened the back door and gently woke Melody, picking her up and placing her on her hip while Jane grabbed the bag.

"The carnival." Melody gasped, smiling. "We're at the carnival!"

"Yes, we are." Lisbon locked the car and they headed toward the carnival grounds that was bustling with people.

"But that's not all of the surprise." Jane smiled at them. "We just have to make a stop first."

Even though Lisbon wasn't sure she wanted to go, she followed. Jane led them to a small metal trailer that Lisbon remembered.

Jane knocked on the door and it was opened quickly by a big man with a moustache and goatee in some old clothes.

"Patrick Jane, at my door again. This isn't about Danny again, is it?" the man said.

"No." Jane shook his head. "It's more of a casual, friendly visit, Pete."

"Yeah?" Pete raised a brow.

"Who is it?" A smaller, dark skinned woman stepped out from the trailer wearing a dress and a house robe.

"It's Patrick." Pete told her.

The woman gave Patrick a skeptical look. Then she noticed Lisbon and Melody and a brow raised. "Pepper had a baby?" She glanced down at Lisbon's midsection. "Damn. I wouldn't have guessed."

Melody looked at her aunt. "Who's Pepper?"

"It's just a nickname." Lisbon tried to shrug it off.

"You the daddy?" The woman asked looking at Jane.

Lisbon felt like the wind got sucked out of her. Why did everyone assume they were Melody's parents? Jane and Melody didn't even look alike!

Jane laughed. "No, Sam. That's Lisbon's niece."

"I'm Melody." The girl smiled and waved.

Sam gave her a small smile.

"Anyway." Jane looked back at Pete. "I have come to ask a favour."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"I was wondering if you would kindly let Melody ride the elephant." Jane said.

Melody looked really excited and squirmed in Lisbon's arms. "An elephant? I can ride an elephant!?"

Pete looked at Jane warily. "She'll probably fall off if we put her up there herself."

"Lisbon will go with her." Jane shrugged.

"Lisbon what? Huh?" She hadn't really been paying attention. She was trying to hold on to the squirming Melody.

"Maybe." Pete wasn't sure he wanted to do Jane any favours.

"Aw, come on, Pete. Don't do it for me. Do it for the kid. Look at how excited she is." Jane said.

Pete sighed. "Fine." He turned and led them to the elephant.

Melody had to stop herself from squealing in excitement when she saw the elephant. The ones at the zoo had been bigger but she wasn't allowed to ride the ones at the zoo.

Pete grabbed the steps and rolled them over so that Lisbon and Melody could use them to get on.

"Okay." Jane said when he was standing on the top step with Melody and Lisbon. Jane swung his leg over and sat on the elephant then held his hand out.

Lisbon leaned down to pick Melody up and place her on the elephant but Jane spoke.

"Uh-uh." Jane shook his head. You first." He patted the elephants back in front of him.

"I thought only one of us was going."

Jane shrugged. "I changed my mind."

Lisbon grumbled but got on the elephant's back.

Pete helped Melody on and she sat in front of Lisbon who protectively hugged the four-year-old close. Jane made sure he had his balance and then encircled Lisbon and Melody in a tight hug.

"Ready?" Pete called up to them.

"Ready!" Melody replied excitedly.

Pete motioned the elephant forward and it swayed slightly as it walked causing Melody to giggle and cheer and Lisbon only held onto her tighter, leaning against Jane for more support.

Jane rested his chin on Lisbon's shoulder and could practically feel her nervous heartbeat as the elephant beneath them swayed. He smiled slightly and buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her apple cinnamon shampoo.

The ride wasn't very long and soon they were getting off.

"That was so cool!" Melody cheered as Lisbon lifted her off the back of the elephant and placed her on the step so that they could get back to solid ground.

"So, you had fun?" Jane smiled as the descended the steps.

"Yeah!" Melody nodded.

Lisbon just sighed in relief when she finally felt the ground under the soles of her shoes.

"Would you like to feed the elephant, too?" Pete asked Melody.

"Yes!" Melody gasped and went with Pete over to a crate where he pulled out the fruit in question. She hurried back to stand in front of the elephant, holding the fruit in both her hands. "Where do I put the apple?"

"Just in the trunk there." Pete pointed and Melody did as he said.

"Eek!" Melody squealed happily as the elephant wrapped its trunk around the apple and then ate it. "I fed an elephant, Teresa! Did you see!?" Melody hopped up and down.

"Yeah." Lisbon smiled at her. "Good job!" She crouched down and hugged Melody when she ran over.

"Thanks for that, Pete." Jane smiled, patting his old friend on the back. "For your trouble." Jane held out a bill.

Pete looked at it for a moment before accepting. "Thanks. And you're welcome. I did it for the kid."

Jane laughed. "Yeah, I know. She's cute."

"Yeah, they are." Pete raised a brow then quickly turned and walked away. Yeah, that's right. He was observant too.

Jane didn't let himself get stuck on that comment for too long.

"Are we going to go on rides, too?" Melody asked, bringing Jane back to reality.

"Of course we are!" Jane told her, enthusiastically. "We're at the carnival!"

Lisbon took one of Melody's hands and Jane took the other as they walked off to the rides and games to join the crowds.

"What did you say that made him leave so quickly?" Lisbon asked Jane quietly. "I didn't even get to thank him."

"I thanked him for you. And why must you always assume that it's my fault?"

"Because about 99.9% of the time, it _is_ your fault."

"Can we go on that?" Melody gestured to the spinning strawberry ride.

"If that's what you want." Jane smiled.

-Mentalist-

"Okay. One more ride." Lisbon told Melody. It was getting late and it was clear that Melody was getting tired despite her repeated protests that she wasn't.

"Two!" Melody insisted.

"Okay. Two." Lisbon caved.

Jane just smiled at the pair. Melody was stubborn and that paired with Lisbon's soft spot for family-especially her nieces-made for a very victorious Melody. It was just lucky for Lisbon that Melody didn't seem to understand her aunt had a soft spot for her.

"That one." Melody pulled them over to the ride of choice. They gave their tickets and got on the ride, one of the employees showing them in what order to sit. Jane sat on the outside, Lisbon in the middle and Melody on the inside. The crossbar was locked in and after a few moments the ride started. At first it spun slowly. Then it got faster, throwing Jane against the side of the cart, Lisbon into his side and Melody into Lisbon's side. Lisbon gasped in surprise while Jane and Melody laughed.

"Wwwweeeeee!" Melody threw her hands in the air.

Jane placed an arm over Lisbon's shoulders and enjoyed the ride until it ended.

"I'm kind of dizzy." Lisbon told them as she stepped out of the cart with Jane's help. "How many spinning rides did we go on today? All they do is spin."

Jane laughed, placing an arm around Lisbon's waist to give her better balance even though she wasn't _so _dizzy to need it. "How about a slower ride to end the day off." Jane looked down at Melody. "Maybe the Ferris wheel?"

"Okay!" Melody agreed and they all made their way over to the ride that was really hard to miss.

"Final ride of the day." Jane said as he let Lisbon and Melody on before him. Melody sat in the middle and they were locked in.

"A peaceful ride." Lisbon sighed.

The wheel rotated to let some other riders on and a cool breeze ran past them. Melody shivered. Lisbon was about to take off her jacket, but Jane beat her to the punch, draping his jacket over Melody like it was a blanket.

"Better?" Jane asked.

"Yep." Melody smiled and nodded. The wheel continued to slowly turn.

"It's a nice view." Lisbon commented as they reached the top.

"It is." Jane agreed, glancing her way but she didn't seem to notice.

Melody smiled as she looked over the bright city lights in the not-too-far-off distance and then up at the twinkling stars. It was very pretty there.

"Sort of…_romantic_, isn't it?" Jane stretched his arms out over the back of their seat and looked over at Lisbon.

Lisbon looked back. "Are…are trying to put moves on me, Patrick Jane?" Lisbon tried to keep her expression at just a smirk, fighting the genuine smile.

"I can't believe you think that I would be the type." Jane shook his head, smiling. Despite the dim lighting, he had seen that blush on her cheeks.

"Oh, yeah. Right." Lisbon turned to look over the scenery again.

"What moves?" Melody asked, looking up at the adults confused.

"Don't worry, sweetie." Lisbon tucked some hair behind Melody's ear. "It's just another game." Though the blush still on her cheeks was very real.

-Mentalist-

The three made their way back to the car and Lisbon strapped Melody into the car seat, the little girl's eyelids drooping.

"We'll be home soon." Lisbon kissed her forehead and then closed the car door.

"Oh!" Jane gasped, interrupting Lisbon from getting into the driver's seat.

"What?"

"There's something I forgot." Jane told her.

Lisbon groaned. "Is it that important?"

"Yes." Jane smiled. "But you can wait here with Melody. Don't worry. I'll be quick. I promise."

Lisbon grumbled and climbed into the passenger seat to wait for Jane as he strode back to the carnival.

It was about twenty minutes later that Jane had returned carrying the giant blue, white and black penguin that he'd noticed Melody eying when they passed some games. It was bigger than Melody, actually, and it wore a funny little hat with a yellow flower that reminded him of the one he'd gotten for Lisbon at the zoo. He peeked into the driver's side window of Lisbon's car and saw that she had dozed off along with Melody. Jane smiled and opened the door as quietly as he could to pull the keys out of the ignition and then moved to the back of the car and shoved the stuffed animal into the trunk. When that was out of the way, Jane went back to the driver's side and gently lifted Lisbon out of the seat, carrying her over to the passenger side and strapping her in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He closed the door and then got into the driver's seat, started the engine and began to drive home.

It wasn't until he pulled into the driveway that Lisbon stirred from her sleep. "Mnh." Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced at the car's surroundings.

"We're home." Jane whispered, smiling.

Lisbon sighed tiredly and got out of the car with Jane.

Jane grabbed Melody and the bag from the back seat and made his way to the front door where Lisbon was searching her pockets for her keys, looking worried. "I got'em." He held up the key ring.

Lisbon looked annoyed, but was too tired to really care as Jane unlocked the door. They took off their shoes and then went to change into their pyjamas.

Jane sat on the bed in Lisbon's room waiting for her. And he waited. Waited. Then waited some more. Finally he got impatient and went to see what was taking her so long. There weren't any lights on downstairs, he noticed when he stepped into the hallway. The bathroom door was open. He walked across to Melody's room and softly knocked on the door. When he got no reply, he opened the door and cautiously looked inside. He smiled and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Lisbon and Melody had both fallen asleep, snuggled together. Jane shifted them under the blankets and then climbed in with them, kissing both their heads.

"I want to name my penguin Freeze." Melody mumbled in her sleep and Jane smiled. It was like she knew.

* * *

**Author's Note: That's it for now! Keep the reviews coming!  
**


	13. Keyboard

**Author's Note: BAM! Chapter 13! I would say that I was very productive these past few days with my writing. I'm quite pleased with that. I'm also thankful for the reviews you guys left me. Thank you for those, it makes me happy to see that someone took the time to comment. I'm always excited to see what you guys think. I feel I should tell you that there is a little bit of sadness in this chapter. You won't cry your face off or anything, but it is a bit sad. You have been warned. And I don't know about you all, but I was a little sad that there wasn't much Jisbon in the last episode :(. So, here is a little bit of Lisbon/Jane closeness. Anyway. I hope you like this chapter as well and continue reading.  
**

**Disclaimer: As I regret to acknowledge, I don't own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

Something hit Jane's chest. It didn't hurt, but it was there. Then it hit again. And again. After a few more tries, Jane heard a huff and then something was tapping his cheek. He realised that it was a hand. A very small hand. He opened his eyes and first saw Lisbon, still sleeping peacefully, and then looked down to see Melody who had been trying to wake him up.

Melody gave him a small smile.

"Morning." Jane whispered, smiling at her. He couldn't be mad at that little face.

"Morning." Melody whispered back. "Um…"

"Yes?"

"I had a dream about the zoo."

"Okay."

"I remembered."

Jane was confused. "Remembered what?"

"I had to ask you-…"

"Ask me what?" Jane saw Melody's cheeks turn a cute pink and she glance behind her at Lisbon.

Melody gestured for him to move closer and he shifted so she could whisper in his ear. "Do you love Teresa?"

Jane shifted back to how he was lying before and took a moment to contemplate how to answer her. "Promise not to tell?"

Melody nodded.

"I do."

Melody's eyes grew and her mouth made an O shape. "Are you going to tell her? She doesn't know."

Jane chuckled softly. "Not yet."

"Why?"

"I want her to warm up a little bit more to the idea."

"How can she if she doesn't know the idea?"

"She knows it. She's a smart woman. She just doesn't know that she knows yet. I will tell her, I promise. But you have to keep your promise, too and not tell _anyone_."

Melody nodded. "Promise."

-Mentalist-

"Are you _sssuuurrrreee_ you don't want me to go with you?" Jane asked for the millionth time.

"_YES_!" Lisbon answered again, very irritated.

"But what am I to do here all by myself?" Jane whined dramatically.

"You'll think of something."

"But, Teresa!"

"Oh, my god." Lisbon groaned and then the phone rang. She picked it up quickly and left the living room to get away from Jane's insistence that he should join Melody, Van Pelt and herself at their yoga class. Not. Happening. "Hello?"

"Hey, Teresa! It's Karen."

"Hi, Karen." Lisbon smiled. "What's up?"

"I was just checking to see that you still wanted the Niagara Falls tickets. The ones I couldn't use because I already had plans?"

_Tickets_? Lisbon thought for the moment. Oh!_ The Niagara Falls tickets_! Crap. She'd forgotten. "Yeah. The tickets. There were three right?"

"Yeah. If you don't want them, it's alright. Did you find someone to go with you?"

"Uh. Yeah, yeah I did. Don't worry. I still want them." Lisbon had accepted the tickets two weeks ago because she though Melody might enjoy Niagara Falls. Then she had forgotten about the tickets, but she still wasn't going to pass them up.

"That's great. I'll give them to you at yoga. See you then!"

"Yeah. I'll see you there. Thanks again, Karen. Bye."

"It's no problem. Bye." And they both hung up.

"Who was that?" Melody asked as she walked into the kitchen in her yoga appropriate outfit. She had some black track pants that looked like a miniature version of the one's Lisbon had on, and a green shirt with a picture of a puppy on it.

"It was my friend, Karen." Lisbon told her. "You'll meet her at yoga."

"Okay." Melody went over to the fridge.

"Would you like to visit Niagara Falls?" Lisbon asked.

Melody looked at her for a moment. "The really big waterfalls?"

Lisbon nodded.

"Yeah." Melody smiled. "I saw pictures and they look pretty."

"That's good. I'm sure they are. But that means we will have to pack tonight because our plane leaves tomorrow."

Melody hurried over and gave her aunt a hug. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"What is going to be so much fun?" Jane asked also entering the kitchen.

"We're going to Niagara Falls!" Melody told him excitedly.

"Yeah? Well I hope there's a ticket for me." He looked at Lisbon.

Should she say there was? Or maybe she should tell him no, as a punishment for all his whining.

A smile broke out on Jane's face. "There is. You just don't want to tell me there is. Oh, Teresa. When will you learn?"

Lisbon frowned at him then smiled at Melody. "Come on, Melody. We don't want to be late for yoga."

"Okay." Melody went to go get her shoes on and so did Lisbon.

"So, you're really just going to leave me here." Jane folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, pouting slightly.

"Yep." Lisbon didn't look up from tying her sneakers.

"Fine. But I'm not going to behave."

"You never do anyways." Lisbon smirked at him.

"I'm going to rearrange everything and you're going to be so lost when you get back." Jane retorted.

"Mhm. Good luck with that." Lisbon shook her head and left with Melody, closing the front door behind them.

Jane watched them drive away and sighed. What was he going to do now? Suddenly, he was hit with an idea.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon grabbed the yoga mats out of the back seat and then locked the car and walked into the building with Melody.

"Hey, Teresa. Hi, Melody." Van Pelt smiled at them when she saw the pair walking through the door.

"Hi, Grace!" Melody ran over to give the red head a hug.

"Who's this?" a woman with blonde hair that was tied back asked, looking at Melody.

"Melody." She said before anyone could answer for her.

"I'm Serena. Are you here with someone?"

"She's with me." Lisbon told her, slipping off her sneakers. "Sorry. I didn't want to leave her at home."

"Not a problem." Serena smiled. "You never said you had a daughter."

Lisbon was ready to yell, but swallowed the urge and just smiled instead. "She's my niece."

"I thought you said your niece was older."

"That's Annabeth." Melody informed her.

"Well, welcome to the class, Melody." Serena held out her hand and Melody shook it.

The class made their way into the studio and began to set out their mats. Van Pelt set her mat near the front of the studio and Lisbon set out a mat for Melody and a mat for herself next to Van Pelt's. all the other members of the class talked casually and said hello to Melody who was being her usual talkative self.

"Alright. We can get started." Serena told them and they all took their places standing on their mats, becoming quiet. "We're going to start with a breathing exercise. Breath in-" Serena took a deep breath swinging her arms and stretching them over her head, standing on her tiptoes and the class copied her- "and out." She bent her legs slightly and leaned forward, dropping her arms so that her hands brushed her feet. Again, the class copied her. They repeated that a few more times before moving onto the next exercise. Melody was enjoying herself and she did really well for a first-timer Lisbon saw.

"And that will conclude today's class." Serena told them smoothly.

Melody was a little shocked and turned to look at the little digital clock near an outlet on the floor. She hadn't even notice the time pass so quickly! Everyone gathered their things and emptied out of the studio.

"Here." Karen handed an envelope to Lisbon who had just finished rolling both the yoga mats up. "The tickets and information."

"Oh, thanks." Lisbon smiled, taking the envelope. "What do I owe you?"

"No, don't worry about it." Karen shook her head. "Just have a good time."

"Are you sure?" Lisbon felt bad not repaying Karen but gave in. "Alright. I'm sure we will. Melody is really looking forward to it."

"To Niagara Falls?" Melody asked.

Lisbon nodded.

"Yeah." Melody nodded. "It's going to be so much fun!"

"I'm glad you're excited." Karen smiled. "Take lots of pictures for me."

"Okay!" Melody nodded.

Karen said her goodbyes and left with Lisbon and Melody soon behind her.

-Mentalist-

Jane wasn't home when Lisbon and Melody got back.

"Well, at least my home is still here and not wrecked. Oh, look. My furniture is even where I left it." Lisbon said jokingly and Melody giggled.

Melody took off her shoes and opened the front closet to put them in and noticed a big brown box. Curious as she always was, Melody put her shoes aside and opened the top to look inside. One of the objects caught her attention and she clumsily pulled the object out of the box. It was long and colourful with lots of buttons and a row of keys. It looked like a mini piano.

"What are you doing?" Lisbon asked, peeking into the closet to see Melody holding the children's keyboard.

"What's this?" Melody asked.

"It's a keyboard." Lisbon answered, ushering Melody out and closing the door. "I saw it at a sale and bought it for Rigsby to give to Benjamin. Clearly, I forgot to give it to him."

"Can we test it?" Melody asked.

"Sure." Lisbon took the object and removed the cover to the battery compartment to check for what kind of battery it needed. Once she knew that, she scoured the place and found what she was looking for. She put the batteries in then covered them with the battery cover and pushed the power button. The little green light told her that the keyboard was working so she placed it on the living room floor for Melody. Lisbon sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the keyboard and Melody sat on her legs.

Melody reached out and poked one of the colourful keys with her index finger and smiled as the instrument produced the corresponding note.

Lisbon reached out and Melody moved her hand away so her aunt could try. Lisbon remembered having a keyboard when she was little. Her mother had taught her a few songs. Then Lisbon had tried to teach Tommy, but he wasn't interested with musical instruments. However, James had been receptive. Lisbon was pretty sure she remembered one song. It was an easy song, but she remembered it so it still counts. She thought really hard, trying to remember the keys she needed to push and sang the song in her head. _Twinkle, twinkle…li-tle…star. How I won_-damn it. Wrong note. That was too flat. She moved her finger a few keys down and found the right note. It took a few minutes, but she managed to figure it out. Then she took Melody's index fingers and used them to play the tune and sang the song with Melody.

"_Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are…_" They were both so busy playing and singing that they didn't hear Jane enter using the spare key he had found in one of the kitchen cupboards.

Jane quietly took off his shoes and when he went to watch them finish the song, he was hit with a sinking feeling in his gut. This felt eerily familiar. He went to stand in the living room doorway and Melody noticed him.

"Listen!" She giggled as she smiled at him and went back to playing the tune.

Jane's heart squeezed. This was familiar. Charlotte and her piano. Melody and Charlotte looked nothing alike, neither did Lisbon and Angela, but somehow the scene brought back that memory and Jane was suddenly not as happy a mood.

"Jane?" Lisbon asked, looking at him concerned.

Jane blinked, returning to reality.

"You alright?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just…I'm not feeling very good right now. I'll just go get some fresh air, or lie down somewhere." Jane turned to leave.

Lisbon lifted Melody up and placed her on the floor next to her. "Keep practicing, sweetie." Lisbon kissed the girl's head and then went to stop Jane.

Lisbon slid between Jane and the door. "Where are you going?"

"Just going out for some fresh air." Jane couldn't even look her in the eye and Lisbon knew that, that was a very bad sign.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not feeling well."

"Yeah, right." Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Seriously. Talk to me. I want to help."

"You always want to help." The corners of Jane's lips twitched.

"Then how about for once, you accept it?"

Jane took a moment to reply. "Well…I don't think this is the place." He sent a quick glance toward the living room where Melody was still practicing _Twinkle, Twinkle_.

"We can talk upstairs or something. But I'm not going to let you go out and mope around for god knows how long." Lisbon folded her arms.

"I don't think it's something you'd want to know, anyway."

"Well, then you would be wrong."

Jane looked her in the eye and saw her determination. He sighed. "Okay." And then he turned to walk upstairs.

Lisbon first went back into the living room.

"Is Patrick okay?" Melody asked, worriedly.

"I'm sure he's going to be okay." Lisbon told her softly.

"Was my playing that bad?" Melody pouted looking down at the keyboard.

"No. No, that wasn't it at all." Lisbon brushed Melody's bangs out of her face and gave her a hug. "You're playing is beautiful. Patrick just isn't…he's just not feeling like himself right now. But he's going to be okay. I'm going to talk to him and cheer him up."

"Should I come, too?"

"That's alright. You know what I need you to do?" Lisbon asked.

"What?"

"I need you to keep playing that pretty music. And then you can watch some TV until we make a snack. Sound good?"

Melody nodded and went back to playing the keyboard as Lisbon headed upstairs to see what had gotten Jane so upset.

Lisbon shut her bedroom door behind her and stood there in silence looking at Jane. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, elbows on his knees and staring at his clasped hands. Finally she made her way over and sat next to him. "Hey." She said softly.

After a moment, Jane tilted his head to look at her. "Hi."

They fell back into silence. "So, how long are we going to sit here in silence until you finally tell me what is wrong? I'd like to skip to that part."

Jane let out a humourless chuckle. "I just…had a flashback." Jane shrugged. "So I'm feeling a little sad. That's all."

"Why'd you have a flashback. I mean, what caused it?"

Jane looked at her and opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't find the words or the will.

"Jane." Lisbon prompted. "If I did something to start that, I'm sorry."

"No." Jane shook his head. "It's not your fault. You were just spending time with Melody."

"But it was me that triggered it?"

Jane thought carefully about how he answered. "Just…Charlotte loved to play the piano and Angela loved to sit with her." He shrugged, looking back down at the floor. "I just kind of flash-backed."

"I'll get Melody a new instrument. A recorder or whatever other dumb plastic toy that makes noise. Melody just kind of found that lying around."

"It's okay." Jane shook his head. "None of it is your fault. And it's especially not Melody's fault."

"I know. But maybe it would help."

Jane wiped a single falling tear. "No. Keep it. Really. It's okay." His voice began to break.

Lisbon reached out and rubbed his back comfortingly, unsure of what she could really say to him.

Jane leaned over towards her and pulled her into a tight hug, nuzzling his face into her shoulder. At first she had been surprised, but hugged him back. It felt nice having her support. Even if he didn't deserve it. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn't care. She was there and he had her support. That was all he needed.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hurray for productive writing days! That was chapter thirteen! These chapters are climbing to some big numbers. I'm just happy to know people enjoy it. See you all at the next chapter! =3  
**


	14. Fixable With Candy

**Author's Note: Here is chapter 14! Not up as fast as chapter 13 was, but oh well. It's up. I'm excited to see what you all think, thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate it!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

Lisbon moved the suitcase that they had quickly packed the previous night to the front hallway after her morning shower. It was about eight o'clock now, Jane was getting changed and Melody was still asleep. Lisbon decided they could pick breakfast up on the way to the airport or something instead of cooking at home. They only needed one big suitcase because the trip was only three days and they had packed lightly. Lisbon dreaded packing for Disneyland, though. That was going to take a considerably larger amount of time and thought.

"Wow, it's so early." Jane stretched as he made his way down the stairs all showered and changed for the new day.

"Tell me about it." Lisbon sighed. "Make sure we have everything we need. I'm going to get Melody up."

"Alright." Jane replied, but he stopped her as she passed him on her way to the stairs. "Wait."

"Yeah?" She asked, looking at him.

He looked at her for a moment. "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"For handling my outburst so calmly yesterday." Jane elaborated.

She gave him a small smile. "You're welcome. It was nothing. Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault."

Jane pulled her into a tight hug and stayed that way for a moment when she hugged back. When he pulled away, he kissed her cheek. "I suppose this isn't the time to mention that I have a penguin in the trunk."

"You have a what where?"

"A penguin." He repeated. "In the trunk."

"I'm going to assume you are talking about a stuffed animal. Mostly because I have no idea where you could get a real one in California, but if it turns out you stole one from the zoo, I don't think I'd be surprised."

"And why not?" Jane pouted. "I'm not _that_ bad of a person!"

"Debatable." Lisbon smirked and turned to head upstairs. She stopped a few steps up. "Could you move the penguin out of the trunk, then? We need to put the suitcase in there. You can give it to Melody when we get back."

"Sure thing." He headed off.

Lisbon quickly got Melody up and changed then they were off to the airport.

Melody woke up more when they went through security and they got breakfast at one of the airports restaurants.

"How's your sandwich?" Lisbon asked.

"It's good." Melody took another bite and they all continued eating.

It was a long and boring wait for the airplane, but it finally got there and they got on. The plane seemed quite new. Every seat had it's own little TV instead of the few that were scattered around to hang from the ceiling. Lisbon had bought some headphones for all of them, hoping the movie would be decent. They all took their seats, Jane got the isle seat with Melody in the middle and Lisbon got the window seat.

After take-off Lisbon plugged in Melody's headphones as well as her own and began too look through her options of entertainment on the touch screen TV that was fixed into the back of the chair in front of her.

With her seatbelt on, Melody couldn't reach the TV, so Lisbon helped her, selecting what she asked her to. When she pressed play and saw the show start on her screen she went back to the movie she had decided to watch. A moment passed and then both Jane and Lisbon noticed Melody pushing the volume buttons constantly.

"What's wrong?" Lisbon asked, pulling out one of her headphones.

"It's not making sound." Melody pouted.

"Here, let me see." Lisbon paused the movie she was watching, pulling her headphones out of her ears and put in the ones Melody was using. She pushed play and heard that Melody was right. It wasn't giving any audio. Lisbon tried bushing the volume up button until it was at 100% and still there was no sound. Lisbon then tried switching the headphones to the ones she had been using. Even that didn't work. Something was wrong with the audio on Melody's seat. Jane even called over a flight attendant to see if they would be able to help. Sadly, they were not able to get it working still.

"Do we get our money back?" Melody asked.

"No." Lisbon chuckled. "Here. I have an idea." Lisbon unbuckled her seatbelt and then Melody's. She got up and lifted Melody into the window seat then sat in the middle one. She readjusted their seatbelts and buckled them back up. "We can share mine."

"Okay." Melody took the headphone Lisbon offered her and fit it into her ear.

Lisbon fit the other one into her ear. "What were you watching?" She reverted back to the main menu.

"A TV show."

Lisbon clicked the TV show icon and a few different options popped up in alphabetical order. "Which one?"

"That one." Melody pointed. "Austin and Ally."

Jane had watched their exchange and was curious to see this show, so he left the music he was listening to and clicked onto that show as well.

A few minutes into the show, Melody tilted her head and looked at the screen quizzically. Then she glanced up at Lisbon and back at the screen. "Teresa?"

"Yes?" Lisbon asked.

"Ally looks like you."

"What?"

"Ally looks like you." Melody repeated. "You both have long brown hair and you're pretty."

Lisbon looked at the girl that played Ally. "I don't see it."

"She does!" Melody insisted.

"Maybe." Lisbon said to make Melody happy.

"Don't worry, Teresa." Melody put a hand on Lisbon's arm and smiled up at her. "You're prettier."

Lisbon smiled back down at her. "Thank you very much, Melody." She kissed the crown of Melody's head.

"You're welcome."

"Ha." Jane let out a small amused laugh next to them.

"What?" Lisbon looked over at him.

Jane pointed at the screen. "She cleans when she's nervous."

"So?" Lisbon shrugged.

"You do that as well, my dear. Always straightening your desk."

"Pft." Lisbon raised her chin a bit. "So?"

Jane just shrugged. "I'm only adding to Melody's statement." He smiled at Lisbon.

"Austin is like you." Melody told him.

"What? How?" Jane hadn't expected that one.

"Unaware he might be a pain in someone's butt?" Lisbon muttered under her breath.

"You, shush." Jane chastised lightly.

"You're both blonde. And you like to be funny." Melody explained.

Jane smiled at her and then looked at Lisbon. "I'm funny." He informed her.

"Yeah." Lisbon replied sarcastically. "You're a riot. With a capital 'N-O-T'." She smiled with just as much sarcasm.

Jane pouted. "Teresa. That-that is really hurtful. You owe me a hug now. No. You owe me a kiss."

Lisbon scoffed. "I do _not_."

"Yeah, you do. Come'ere." Jane moved the armrest between them out of the way and leaned over to hug her. Lisbon tried to lean away, but there wasn't really any space for her to move so Jane pulled her close and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "See? Aw. You really like hugs. You just like to pretend you don't."

"Oh, that is _not_ true." Lisbon tried to struggle out of his arms but was unable.

Jane poked her side and she bit back a laugh, still struggling. This continued until the man sitting behind them spoke.

"Can you keep it down and stop messing around up there?" he grunted. "I'm trying to watch a movie."

Lisbon and Jane stopped and shared a look before going back to sitting properly, both looking a little bit like teenagers who had been caught sneaking out on a school night.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon was glad when they landed and she could get off of the plane. She wasn't afraid of flying, but it wasn't very comfortable to sit in one tight place for hours. She was also excited to be at this new place. She had never been across the boarder to Canada, but the brochure she had checked out online had promised lots of things to do. They collected their luggage and made their way out of the airport to catch a taxi. It didn't take long for them to get one, stuff the suitcase in the trunk and head for their hotel. Lisbon saw all of the shops and attractions passing her outside the window as they drove, and could tell they were probably going to have fun.

"Wow!" Melody gasped, pointing at the giant Ferris wheel that they saw in the near distance. "It's so big! Bigger than the one at the carnival!"

"It is." Lisbon agreed.

"Can we ride that, too?" Melody asked.

"Of course we can." Lisbon smiled at her. The taxi pulled over and stopped by the curb in front of their hotel.

"Thank you." Melody said to the driver as they got out.

"You're welcome." The driver smiled at her as he popped the trunk so they could get their things. Jane paid him and with a final wave, the taxi drove off.

Lisbon carried Melody and Jane carried the suitcase as they went into the hotel to check in and then headed up to their room.

The hotel room was as Lisbon was expecting. It had two double beds, a bathroom and a TV. What she didn't expect was the small addition to the room at the far end that was completely a window where she could look out and see the falls. There were even a few chairs so they could sit and enjoy the view.

"What should we do on our first day here?" Lisbon asked, then added, "besides going to get lunch right now. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

-Mentalist-

Lisbon double checked to make sure she had everything before they left. Key ring, hotel room key, wallet, money/cards _in_ wallet and so on. They had all taken a short nap after getting back from lunch because they were all tired, but had been outvoted for their activity of the night. They were visiting haunted houses. Lisbon had tried to convince Melody and Jane to do something else, but had not succeeded. She wore some dark jeans, t-shirt and a very light sweater. It was summer, but the night's air had a slight chill to it. Jane wore a similar outfit, but with lighter jeans. Melody was in some neon green track pants, multi-coloured polka-dotted t-shirt and jean jacket with little sewn on patches and metallic studs. Melody had also insisted on wearing Sir Stitch-a-Lot.

"Alright." Jane finished putting on his shoes and picked Melody up. "Dinner and then entertainment."

Lisbon rolled her eyes and they left in search of a family restaurant. She was glad they hadn't bothered with a rental car because everything seemed to be within walking distance of their hotel. They had their pick of restaurants and decided on _The Hard Rock Café_, even if Lisbon felt they were dressed a little casual for the restaurant. Oh, well. They were seated promptly and handed menus, Lisbon and Jane sitting on one side of the booth and Melody sitting on the other. Melody got a children's menu and crayons to entertain her while they waited.

"I'm feeling in the mood for pasta." Jane scanned his menu, thoughtfully.

"I'm looking at the burgers." Lisbon replied. "What do you want, Melody?"

"Chicken fingers and French fries." Melody looked up from the small picture of a turtle that she was colouring in with the crayons she'd been given.

"Hello." A young woman approached their table wearing black pants, pocketed apron and a uniform shirt, holding a pen and pad of paper. "I'm Beth. I will be your server for tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Jane gestured for Lisbon to go first.

"Um, I'll have a coffee, please." Lisbon said.

"I'll have some orange pekoe tea." Jane told her.

Lastly, Beth looked at Melody after taking down Lisbon and Jane's drink orders. "What would you like to drink, little lady?"

Melody smiled. She was a lady! "Um. Can I have some chocolate milk?"

"Of course. Always a good choice." Beth added that to the list. "Are you all ready to order now, or should I come back in a few minutes?"

"I think we're ready now." Lisbon looked at Jane to make sure and he nodded.

"Okay. Fire away." Beth had her pen and note pad ready. They ordered and then Jane and Lisbon gave back their menus. "I'll be back with your drinks in a moment." Then Beth turned to go get their drinks.

"I think we should go to the haunted house across the street first." Jane told Lisbon. It's closest. Then we can work our way further down."

"Okay."

"Look." Melody held out her children's menu to show them and indicated what exactly she wanted them to look at. It was the picture of the turtle she had coloured. According to Melody, turtles had red shells with yellow spots, a green head and legs that were all different colours.

Lisbon smiled at the picture. Not all of the colour was in the lines, but that was okay. It was cute. "It's a very pretty turtle." Lisbon told her. Then she noticed that at the top of the page in purple crayon Melody had written her name in messy printing. "Your writing has gotten better." she noted out loud.

"I practiced." Melody took the menu back from her aunt.

"I can tell. You were just learning before. Now you're even better."

"Thank you." Melody beamed. When Lisbon had visited the previous year for Christmas, Annabeth had been in the middle of trying to teach Melody the alphabet. When Lisbon had, had to baby-sit Melody for the day at James' house she started teaching Melody spelling. Starting with her own name. The young girl caught on quickly and was trying to spell everyone's names.

"Here you go." Beth returned and placed their drinks in front of them. "You're food is being cooked right now. Is there anything else for now?"

"I just have a question." Jane said.

"Yes?"

"Are there any particularly good haunted houses around here? Ones that you would recommend?"

Beth looked confused for a moment, glancing at Melody who seemed to want to know the answer as well. "Um. The one across the street has a very good reputation." Beth thought back to things she'd been told about the haunted houses. "There's also one up the street that way" she pointed "it's called Frank'n'Vamp or something like that. I'm not really much of a haunted house person, myself."

"Join the club." Lisbon sighed. "I was out-voted."

"Don't worry, sweetie." Jane put an arm around her shoulders. "I'll protect you."

Lisbon just glared at him. "You're _so_ lucky that I couldn't bring my gun."

"You need to stop being so cranky. If you wanted to sleep longer, you should have said so."

Lisbon didn't want to bicker with Jane in front of Melody and Beth, so she just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I hope you figure it out." Beth tried to keep the giggle out of her voice and turned to attend to her other customers.

-Mentalist-

It didn't take long for them to get their food and eat.

"Have a fun night." Beth waved after they paid the bill.

"You too!" Melody waved back and they left. They all crossed the street holding hands and got in line to pay for the haunted house. Then they were directed through the door into a small dark hallway where they could barely see.

Lisbon picked Melody up and made sure to walk closer to Jane so that they didn't get separated. A few steps in, Lisbon jumped and bumped softly into Jane's side.

"Whoa." Jane laughed, steadying her. "What's wrong?"

"Something touched my leg." She took a deep breath and then laughed, feeling stupid that, that had started her.

Jane laughed and placed a hand around her waist as they took a few more steps. "Oh, geez." Jane shivered.

"What?" Lisbon asked.

"Something just ran down my back."

It was Lisbon's turn to laugh at him. "A shiver, maybe? You scared already, Jane?" Then she made her voice sugary sweet. "Do you need me to protect you?"

"Shush, you." Jane held her a bit tighter.

"Hey." Melody giggled.

"Are you okay?" Lisbon asked.

"Yeah." Melody touched the back of her head. "Someone poked me."

Lisbon instinctively moved Melody to her other hip so that she was on the side between herself and Jane. As they continued down the hallway, the ceiling began to lower and they had to lean forward in order to fit. Then there was an opening and they ducked under it into another dark hallway with gory decorations, flashing lights and scary-looking creatures. One of the people in a werewolf costume jumped out from behind a fake wall, right in their faces and growled menacingly. Lisbon jumped and hugged Melody tighter, but laughed anyway that they had gotten her.

Melody let out a squeak of surprise and then laughed.

Despite the fact that he was trying to play it cool, Lisbon had noticed Jane jump next to her when the man jumped out at them. He was also laughing as they continued through the haunted house.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon hadn't been sure how Melody was going to react to the haunted houses when the suggestion had first been brought up. However, she was taking them like a champ. They had seen some of the older kids-and even some teenagers- get more scared than Melody, who laughed more than she screamed. Well…she laughed _because_ she had screamed. Melody had informed her that Annabeth had taken her to the Horror House show last Halloween and that she knew the people couldn't hurt her. So, it was okay. They were in line to enter the last haunted house of the night. Number…five, if she wasn't mistaken. Melody stood in the middle, holding both Jane and Lisbon's hands. They were finally ushered in and made their way through, enjoying themselves.

They could see the exit only a few feet away. An open door after a relatively boring section of wall. The trio was almost at the door when someone wearing a mask, covered in fake blood and holding a gun jumped out and started firing blanks, snarling and growling.

Melody's heart stopped for a moment and she let out a very long, loud and real scream as she tried to wriggle her hands free to bolt away, back into the haunted house. "He came back!"

Lisbon's grip tightened on Melody's hand as she tried to pull her closer. "No, no, no! It's okay, Melody. It's alright." Lisbon crouched down and tried to hug Melody, but the girl kept fighting to run the other way.

"Is she okay?" The boy asked, worried.

"She's okay." Jane tried to reassure him. "Very good job. You almost got me to scream, too." He tried to make the boy feel better. "She's just jumpy around guns. May we?"

"Yeah." The boy nodded and stepped aside so they could exit.

Lisbon had managed to pull Melody into a hug and pick her up, following Jane out with Melody crying into her shoulder. They stood under a streetlamp, trying to calm her down and some passers-by sent them some curious looks, but Lisbon couldn't have cared less. "Sssshhhhhhh." Lisbon cooed in Melody's ear, stroking her hair and bouncing a little bit like a mother with a newborn baby. "It's okay. You're okay. It wasn't him."

Melody just continued to cry.

Jane stepped forward and pulled them both into a hug. Maybe being warmer would help calm Melody down. It took a few minutes, but Melody eventually calmed down, pulling her head off of Lisbon's shoulder and looking up at them sniffling.

"There we go." Lisbon smiled, brushed some hair from Melody's face and wiped at her tears. "All better?"

Melody gave a small nod and them rested her head back against Lisbon's shoulder.

Lisbon leaned into Jane more, breathing a bit easier now that Melody had stopped crying. She tilted her head up to look at Jane and smiled.

He smiled back before leaning down and placing a light kiss on her lips. It was quick and careful, but he still felt her heart flutter and her cheeks heat up.

Lisbon was unable to hold Jane's gaze without blushing more so she focused her attention on Melody and didn't hear the young couple sitting on a bench nearby.

"Sweetie. When we have kids, I want us to be that close." The woman giggled.

"I'm sure we will be." Was the man's response.

"How about we go get a snack?" Jane suggested, smiling. "A lollipop, or some candy?"

Melody lifted her head again and looked at him. "Candy?" The corners of her lips twitched upward into the beginnings of a smile.

"I gather that's a yes?" Jane's smile grew.

"Not too much, though." Lisbon said. "We do need to sleep."

"But we can get candy?" Melody looked at her aunt.

"It can't hurt." Lisbon smiled at her.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, that's it for this chapter. It's a little bit longer then my last few chapters. I think that's good. Adding in the show Austin and Ally and comparing them to Jane and Lisbon is an idea that was suggested to me by Country2776. I must give credit where it is due. Thank you for that idea.  
**

**Also, I'm super excited for Halloween! I was thinking about writing a Halloween-based fanfic, but I don't really have any ideas-apart from the one I had for Lisbon, Jane and Melody, but it doesn't fit into the time for this fanfiction. I pictured this one taking place in the early to mid summer months. I thought I might post it as a separate one-shot, since it's not really in the timeline for this story, or as a randomly added 'filler' chapter or something, but I don't know. If anyone has any suggestions for a Halloween fanfic, I'm willing to hear them! O****r if you want me to post the thing as a one-shot or filler chapter or whatever, let me know.** Halloween is my favourite time! =3  


**Please review. See you all next chapter!  
**


	15. Bestest Friends

**Author's Note: Thank you to Guest who commented on the last chapter. Okay! Here's chapter 15! Yay! I'm excited to see what you guys think about this chapter because I was looking forward to writing it, as well as the Disneyland chapters, but those come later. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist, as I'm sure we all know by now.  
**

* * *

Lisbon opened her eyes tiredly to look at her alarm clock that told her it was 9 AM. She hadn't bothered to set her alarm for the morning. She was going to sleep in. It's weird how a plane ride can take so much out of you. She had enjoyed herself at Niagara Falls, but was still glad to be home. Now it was Saturday and she remembered the party they were to go to that night. Yes. She was going to sleep in.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon looked through Melody's suitcase for something nice for Melody to wear to the party that night. There was a cute little dress that would work perfectly, folded nicely in one corner of the suitcase. Lisbon held it up in front of her. James had taste in child's clothing. Who knew? It had a black velvet top with thick straps, rounded neckline, a dark green sash and a poofy dark purple and sparkly skirt. Lisbon smiled. It was very Melody like. "Come on, Melody!" Lisbon called out the room door.

"You have to get dressed for the party!" There was a moment of silence and then she heard the patter of the little girls footsteps as she hurried up the stairs.

"Time to get ready?" Melody asked.

"Yeah." Lisbon held up the dress to Melody. "We're gonna dress you up and make you look really pretty."

Melody smiled and took the dress from Lisbon. With her aunt's help, Melody got the dress on.

"Alright." Lisbon said, as she zipped the zipper on the back of Melody's dress. "Time for socks." She sorted through all the pairs until she found some pure white socks with frills at the top and slipped them onto Melody's feet, followed by the black sparkly dress shoes with little yellow stars on them.  
Melody then went over and rummaged through some of her other things, producing a plastic silver dress-up crown with little fake jewels and placed it on her head.

"Ta-da!" She held her hands above her head and smiled at her aunt.  
Lisbon chuckled. "Now let's make your hair is nice, too." She grabbed Melody's rainbow colour, sparkled hair brush from the dresser top and fished around the toiletry bag for some ponytails before sitting on the bed and placing them next to her. She patted her lap and Melody climbed up, sitting to face away from Lisbon. Lisbon pulled the crown gently off Melody's head and began to brush her hair. She pulled the top layers back and braided them, tying it at the bottom. Then, she carefully placed the crown back on Melody's head, picked her up and held her in front of the dresser mirror. "Look at you, Melody. You look so pretty."

Melody giggled and nodded. "Thank you." She kissed Lisbon on the cheek. "Now we have to go make you look pretty."

"Yeah." Lisbon said. "Now it's my turn to get ready. Why don't you go keep Patrick company?"

"But what if you need help, Teresa? Like you helped me?" Melody asked.

"Don't worry, Melody. I'll be fine."

"But I want to help." Melody pouted.

Lisbon sighed. "Okay. You can help if you want."

Melody smiled, pleased that she could help.

Lisbon walked hand-in-hand with Melody to her room. Lisbon closed the door behind them and Melody sat on the bed. Lisbon went to her closet and pulled out the dress she had decided to wear and placed it on the bed. She took off her cross necklace and went to put it on the bedside table.

"Can I see it?" Melody asked.

Lisbon looked down at the necklace in her hand and then placed it in Melody's outstretched hands.

Melody looked at the smooth gold surface and ran her fingers over it, turning it in her hands. "It's pretty." Melody said.

"Do you like it?" Lisbon asked.

Melody ran the pads of her thumbs over the surface of the cross. "Yeah." Melody said, shyly.

Lisbon sat on the bed next to Melody, watching her niece and tilting her head with a small smile. "Do you want to wear a pretty necklace, too?"

Melody looked at Lisbon, wide-eyed. "Well..." she looked back at the necklace. "You...you don't have to."

"Do you _want_ to?" Lisbon repeated.

"Yeah."

"Then you can." Lisbon got up and grabbed the small jewelery box that she kept the little jewelery she had in it, brought it over and placed it next to Melody. "Do you like any of them?" Lisbon opened the lid, showing Melody the contents.

Melody looked surprised. It was probably the most jewellery the girl had ever seen in one place outside of a jewellery store. She held the cross in one hand and reached out with the other to touch the other necklaces that she saw. "Pretty."

"Take your pick." Lisbon encouraged.

Melody grabbed one she really liked and pulled it out of the box. "Can I wear this one?" It was a little silver chain with a bright blue tear shaped pendant on it.

"Of course you can." Lisbon smiled. "Very good choice."

Melody smiled as Lisbon took the necklace and put it on her. It hung a little lower then it should have because it wasn't made for a four-year-old. Melody looked down at the pendant and placed her palm over it and then looked up at Lisbon.

"Do you like it?" Lisbon smiled.

"Yeah." Melody grinned back. "But now you have to get ready, Teresa. We don't want to be late."

"Alright, alright." Lisbon shut the box and placed it back where it belonged.

"You two ready yet?" Lisbon and Melody heard Jane yell from outside the door.

"Almost." Lisbon yelled back then turned to look at Melody. "It would be really helpful if you could keep Jane busy and entertained while I get ready. Could you keep him busy for me, Melody?"

"Yeah." Melody said enthusiastically, jumping off the bed.

"Alright." Lisbon clapped. "I'm sure you're going to do a great job. I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes."

"Okay." Melody hugged Lisbon around the legs.

Lisbon leaned down and kissed Melody on the forehead. "Have fun."

"I will." Melody kissed Lisbon on the cheek and ran out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Lisbon smiled and started to get ready.

-Mentalist-

Jane looked up when he heard Lisbon coming down the stairs. He smiled when she reached the bottom and came into full view. Her dress was dark blue with thick straps, V-neck, an emerald green sash around the waist that brought out her eyes and it reached just above her knee. The fabric had sparkles on it and it glittered as she moved along with the small amount of silver jewellery she'd worn. Her hair was down and straight.

"You look so pretty!" Melody smiled.

"Thank you."

"Very nice." Jane nodded, looking her over appreciatively. Then he pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. "What about a ring?"

"A what? Why?"

Jane raised a brow and waited a moment until she realised.

"Oohhh. Right. No one will believe you're Mr. Lisbon if I don't wear one." She smirked.

Jane rolled his eyes. Did she _really_ need to keep bringing that up?

"I'll be right back." And Lisbon headed back upstairs only to return a moment later, fully ready to go now. She put on a pair of shoes with a little bit of a heel instead of her high heels. High heels and a four year old were a bad mix.

-Mentalist-

They arrived just on time. There were quite a few people already there when they walked in. The banquet hall was big and lit with enough light to give a romantic feeling. Off to the right side, there was a doorway where they could see a separate room set up for the younger kids with a big dance floor, flashing lights, food and some games.

Melody looked up at Jane and Lisbon after noticing the room.

"Go ahead." Lisbon smiled at her and patted her back to encourage her.

"Thank you." Melody smiled. Then, on a second thought added, "Mommy."

"Have fun." Jane told her.

"I will. Thank you, Daddy." And with that, Melody headed off to join the other kids.  
Jane wrapped an arm around Lisbon's waist and pulled her against his side as they ventured further into the adult portion of the banquet hall, waving at some of the strangers they passed. There was a big dance floor in the middle of the room and Jane noticed Lisbon's longing glance toward it. He made a mental note to make sure they danced at least once before leaving. They made their way to one of the food tables and grabbed some food before finding a seat at one of the circular dinning tables. "How about I go get us some drinks?"

"Sure." Lisbon nodded. "Just Champaign for now."

"As you wish." Jane did a small bow as he got up and headed over to the bar for their drinks. He placed the order and waited for the bartender to get their drinks.

"Hi."

Jane turned his head to see a woman with long, blond wavy hair and brown eyes in a short pink dress sitting on the bar stool next to where he was standing. "Hi."

Jane smiled and nodded politely as he looked back to the bar tender who had apparently had to get some more Champaign from the back.

"I'm Alison." She smiled, flipped some hair over her shoulder and held out her hand.

"Patrick." He shook her hand. "Patrick J-Lisbon."

"That's a nice name." She smiled flirtatiously and batted her lashes. "You here with anyone?"

"My wife." Jane nodded in Lisbon's direction, moving his left hand so Alison could see it better. Lisbon was eating some of the salad that she had grabbed, unaware of the attention she had on her.

"Really?" Alison raised a brow as if that surprised her, with a hint of distaste toward the brunette.

Jane just nodded and smiled.

"I picture you as the type that would like blonds."

Jane shrugged. "Guess you were wrong." The bar tender finally handed Jane's drinks over, and Jane was glad to be able to leave. He thanked the bar tender and turned to leave.

"I'll see you around." Alison smiled at him.

"Yeah." Jane replied over his shoulder as he made his way back to Lisbon.

"Did you get lost?" Lisbon joked when she saw him approaching.

"No." Jane smiled. "I think the bar tender did."

Lisbon laughed.

Jane glanced over his shoulder subtly and saw Alison was keeping an eye on him. He leaned down and kissed Lisbon's cheek affectionately before whispering in her ear. "We have a critic. I hope you liked drama class in high school."

"Oh, god." Lisbon groaned slightly.

Jane smiled and sat down, placing her drink in front of her.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Teresa! Patrick!"

They both turned to see Sandy Fallon heading their way. She had on a gold dress that was very flattering.

"Sandy." Lisbon smiled. "Hi."

"Hello, Sandy." Jane greeted.

"How are you? I'm so glad you could make it. Melody here as well?" Sandy gave both Lisbon and Jane a hug.

"She went to join the other kids." Lisbon told her.

"Ah. Then she's probably found Ellie. She was so excited to see Melody."

"That's sweet. Melody was looking forward to this as well." Lisbon replied.

"I'm glad to hear that." Sandy smiled. "Feel free to come find me or Andy and mingle. I gotta finish making my rounds, see you later. Have fun you two!" Sandy waved and left.

"Oh. I'm sure we're gonna have fun." Jane smiled over at Lisbon.

-Mentalist-

Melody walked into the room with all the other younger children and looked around excitedly. She was looking for Ellie. She saw lots of other kids. Some playing with the colourful balloons, others on the dance floor and some playing the games like 'pin the tail on the donkey'. Finally, she spotted Ellie getting a drink from the refreshment table. "Ellie!" Melody called and ran over to the other girl.

Ellie was wearing a baby blue dress with frilled sleeves and white dress shoes. She turned to see Melody hurrying over and smiled big at her. "Hi!"  
Melody stopped just in time so she didn't bowl into Ellie, who was holding a full cup of juice. Then she carefully hugged her friend and got her own cup of juice. "Do you want to dance or play a game?"

"Um. I don't know." Ellie sipped her drink of apple juice.

"I think we should play Pin the Tail." Melody said. "Can we go play?"

"Okay." Ellie nodded and they both quickly finished their juice to go join the game.

Melody was sort of close to the mark. She got the back of the donkeys hind leg instead of the butt. It was too low down. Ellie got the donkeys hip. Either way, they were both given a gummy bear for their participation. They were chewing on their candy when the song changed.  
Melody gasped. "We have to dance! Come!"

"Mmm...I don't really thin-" but Melody grabbed Ellie's arm and dragged her onto the dance floor.

"The Chicken Dance song!" Melody told Ellie in case she didn't know. Then she held her hands near her head pretending her hands we're beaks and making them open and close in time with the music. Then when the timing was right, she stuck her hand in her armpits and flapped her arms like wings, still in time with the music. When the music cued, she wiggled downward then jumped back up and clapped her hands with the beat. Ellie performed a less enthusiastic version of the dance next to Melody and was taken by surprise when Melody linked her arms and skipped around in a circle, unlinked them, turned, linked them again and skipped around the other way before repeating the first part of the dance. Eventually, Melody got Ellie to dance enthusiastically.

After a few more songs and much more dancing, the pair got thirsty so they both headed back to the refreshment table. Ellie walked behind Melody, weaving through the small crowd of kids, before she accidentally bumped into someone and stumbled backwards.

"Watch it!" The other kid yelled. He was a boy about 5 or 6 with light blonde hair. "You spilled grape juice on my shirt!"

Melody turned to see if Ellie was alright.

"Sorry." Ellie said. "I'll get something to clean it out."

"Its _grape juice_, kid. You can't wash it out!"

"Sorry." Ellie repeated.

"You better be sorry! Stupid kid!" The boy took as step toward Ellie, getting in her face.

Melody stepped between Ellie and the boy. "Stop it!" She demanded. "Leave her alone! She said sorry! It was an accident."

"What do _you_ know!" The boy snapped at her. "You're just a stupid baby!"

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

"Melody." Ellie said quietly behind her. "It's okay. Let's go get juice."

"You're a stupid moron!" Melody shot back, ignoring Ellie's offer.

"No I'm not!"

"Meany stupid fathead moron!" Melody growled back.

The boy seemed to have had enough and shoved Melody.

Melody stumbled but didn't fall, Ellie tried to pull her away, but Melody pushed her away and shoved him back as hard as she could.

The boy came close to falling, but managed to stay up-right. He tried to retaliate by slapping Melody, but she ducked and he ended up ripping the tiara off her head. When Melody went to hit him back, he snapped the tiara in half, causing Melody to stop. He made sure she was watching when he dropped the pieces on the ground and stomped on it until it was in a bunch of pieces.

Melody stared at the pieces in shock. Anger bubbled up in her blood and she fully tackled the boy to the ground.

"Melody! No!" Ellie screamed, trying to stop her friend but it was a little late and drew the attention of everyone, even over the loud music.

-Mentalist-

"No!"

Jane and Lisbon turned to look in the direction of the scream. It came from the kids' party room. They hurried to see what all the commotion was. When they got there, Lisbon's heart sank. Melody scrambled and stood up. There was a boy a year or so older than Melody who's mother was hugging him close.

"You little monster!" She yelled at Melody. "How dare you hurt my baby! You brat!"

Melody's head was down and Lisbon tried to hug her, but Melody shied away. Lisbon then turned her attention toward the yelling mother, stepping in front of Melody.

"Be quiet!" Lisbon snapped venomously at her.

"No! Who do you think you are!?"

"I'm the adorable monster's mother!" Lisbon hissed.

"You're a terrible mother because you're daughter is horrible attacking my son for no reason!"

"I somehow doubt that's what happened." Lisbon raised her chin a bit. Behind her, Jane picked Melody up and hugged her, rubbing her back and whispering nice things into her ear as she buried her face into his shoulder. Lisbon was ready to smack the other woman but Sandy and Andrew hurried into the middle of the argument.

"What's going on?" Andrew Fallon asked.

"That horrible child attacked Jason!" The other mother yelled.

"Not true!" Lisbon protested.

"You weren't even here!" Jason's mom shot back.

"You weren't either!" Lisbon hissed. "I saw you gallivanting around the bar!"

The woman looked at Lisbon, shocked. Even Lisbon seemed shocked at her outburst. "How dare you-"

"Lucy!" Andrew interrupted. "Jason has picked on kids before. We invite you because we are told we have to. We told you, one more time and that's it. I don't want to be rude or harsh, but this is it. Not again. Please leave."  
Jane kissed Melody's head. He could see she was ready to cry, but was doing a substantial job at holding it in. He edged over to Sandy, leaned over and whispered to her, "Is there somewhere private, where Teresa and I could talk to Melody?"

"Down the hall that way," Sandy pointed, "third door on the right. There's a small lounge. We don't really use it."

"Thanks." Jane grabbed Lisbon's hand and pulled her out of the crowded room, looking for the door he had been told about. As they got further from the mass of people, Melody slowly lost the battle to her tears. By the time they closed the door behind them, Melody was fully sobbing. Lisbon and Jane saw a love seat and sat down on it. Jane placed Melody on his lap so that she was facing Lisbon, but Melody had covered her face with her hands.

"Melody?" Lisbon asked, gently pulling Melody's hands away from her face.

"I'm sorry!" Melody sobbed with tears pouring down her cheeks when Lisbon pulled her hands away. "I'm sorry! Please don't give me to adoption! I don't want to be gived to adoption!"

"What?" Lisbon was completely taken by surprised. "Where did that come from? Who told you that?"

"Mommy. Said. She wanted. To give. Me to adoption. I don't want to go to adoption! Please don't send me away!"

"Melody. _Melody_. Nobody's going to send you away. No one. I promise. I wouldn't ever let you be sent away. When did your mom say that to you?" Lisbon was disgusted with Melody's mother. How could she say something like that to Melody!?

"Last Christmas." Melody was still sobbing. "Mommy didn't want to see me and she told Daddy it would be better if he gived me to adoption. She said it would be better."

Lisbon picked Melody up and hugged her. "No, Melody. She's wrong. No one is going to send you away. Your mommy doesn't understand how amazing you are." She ran her fingers through Melody's hair. "It's okay. I've got you."

Jane rubbed Melody's back and shifted closer to them. "No one would want to send you away. We love you."

Melody sniffled and looked up at him, but didn't say anything.

"Yeah." Jane nodded. "That's right. We do."

Melody turned to look at Lisbon, who also nodded.

When Melody still didn't say anything, Lisbon leaned forward and placed a kiss on the end of Melody's nose. It was something that her mother used to do when she was little, and Lisbon felt that maybe it would help somehow.

Melody covered the spot Lisbon had kissed with the palm of her hand and gave her a small smile.

"Any better?" Lisbon asked.

"You gave me a special kiss."

"Yep."

"Daddy says you can only give one to someone when you _really_ love them."

"That's right."

Melody's smile grew a bit, then it fell to a pout. "But my crown is gone." She touched the spot on her head where the object had been.

"He did you a favour." Jane told her.

Melody looked at him confused.

"Now you have room for a _better_ one." Jane explained. "We're going to Disneyland tomorrow. You can get a prettier one there. One that a real princess would wear. I promise you we will find a nicer one."

Melody's smile returned when she realised that he was right, and they all cuddled together in a little group hug. Moments later, there was a knock on the door.

"Melody?" Ellie's voice was muffled by the door.

"Yeah?" Melody called back.

The door opened and Ellie's feet made a pattering noise as she hurried over, her parents entering behind her.

"Are you okay?" Ellie stopped in front of the love seat, looking worried and reaching out to touch Melody's arm.

"Yeah." Melody nodded and smiled.

A grin spread out on Ellie's face and with her other hand she held out a sheet of folded white paper. "I told my mommy and daddy what happened. You're not in trouble. Thank you. I want you to have this."

Melody took the sheet of paper and unfolded it carefully. At the top was Ellie's name written in her own hand writing. Under her name, clearly written by one of her parents, was a phone number and a home address. "What is it?" Melody asked.

"It's my phone number and address so we can talk and write to each other all the time. We can be bestest friends."

A huge smile spread across Melody's face. "Bestest friends?"

Ellie nodded and smiled.

"I've never had a bestest friend before." Melody told her.

"Me neither. But I want you to be my bestest friend."

Melody looked up at Lisbon and Jane, beaming.

"I'll hang onto her information for you." Jane offered, holding out his hand.

Melody gave the paper to him and he folded it up to put in one of his pockets.

"Go back to the party." Lisbon told her and kissed her head. "There's still time left. "Go have fun."

"Okay." Melody gave Jane and Lisbon a final hug before getting off the love seat and taking Ellie's hand. She also gave Mr. and Mrs. Fallon a hug and apologized for fighting before running out with Ellie back to the party.

"Shall we?" Jane held his hand to Lisbon after standing up.

Lisbon smiled and took his hand, also standing up. "We shall."

Jane leaned forward and kissed the end of her nose. "Good." And they went back to the party as well.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, that's it for now. The next chapter, they will still be at the party and it will be quite Jisbony. Promise. Tell me what you think with a review! :) See you at the next chapter!  
**


	16. You Again?

**Author's Note: Chapter 16! Yay! Sorry that it took me a little bit longer to update. School sucks. 'Nuf said. Regardless, I am happy to update and excited to see what you all think. Thank you to everyone who commented. Every time I see someone commented, I have a little spaz fit in my mind. Probably just me over dramatizing it. Oh, well. I hope you enjoy chapter 16.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

It was almost as if there had never been a disturbance at all. Everything seemed the same when Lisbon and Jane walked back into the party with their hosts.

"Maybe this question is late, but I am quite curious." Sandy said, looking at Lisbon. "How did you two meet?"

"It's not that romantic, really." Lisbon flushed a bit, partly from nervousness. She hadn't thought about what she'd say if anyone asked that.

"We met through work." Jane let go of Lisbon's hand to pull her closer to his side. "She was very stubborn, but finally I got her to go on a date with me. We've been together ever since." He kissed her head and Lisbon smiled, giving a small nod of agreement. She was just happy he hadn't created some over-the-top story for her to remember.

"How about you two?" Lisbon asked.

"Mutual friends. And a blind date." Sandy smiled. "I didn't even want to go at first, but my friends convinced me. I'm glad I went now, though." She giggled and looked up at her husband, who smiled back.

"Sandy!" A woman with light brown hair in a light green dress approached them, smiling. "I've been looking for you."

"Sorry, Mandy." Sandy smiled. "I've been busy. This is Teresa and Patrick Lisbon. They're new guests."

"Nice to meet you." Mandy shook their hands. "Oh. That's a nice ring." She turned Lisbon's hand to see the engagement and wedding ring she was wearing.

"Thank you." Lisbon smiled, not sure whether to pull her hand back or not. Mandy let go soon enough anyway.

-Mentalist-

Jane sat down at one of the empty tables, placing his Champaign flute on the tabletop. He'd returned from checking on Melody and Lisbon was off with Sandy and Mandy doing…whatever it was they do at parties. Talk probably? He wasn't sure. Oh, well. He could relax in the meantime, no one to pester him with questions at the moment. A glance at the dance floor reminded him that he still hadn't taken Lisbon to dance and that he really had to before the night was over.

"Patrick? Alone again?"

He cringed mentally and put on his best fake smile, though it was a little tight and he couldn't help it, before turning to face Alison.

"Where is your _wife_?" she glanced around.

"She's talking with some of the other women. Or they might have started a game of cards. I'm not entirely sure what it is they like to do at these things." Jane shrugged.

"Oh?" Alison pulled the other chair closer to his and sat down. "You didn't go with her?"

"She's my wife, not my dog. I don't have to supervise her the entire time. It was a ladies only thing, much to my regret though. It's much more fun when I have her around."

"Well…" Alison smiled. "I could try and help you have fun while she's not here. We could…" she looked like she was thinking. "We could go for a walk. Or we could go dancing, or-"

"Patrick?"

A huge grin appeared on Jane's face as he turned to see Lisbon approaching him. "Hello there, stranger." He took her left hand and kissed the rings on her finger, applauding himself mentally when she blushed a bit.

"I hope it hasn't been too dry for you while I was gone. Sorry. I didn't mean to stay that long." She told him.

"No, don't worry. I've been fine." Jane stood up and pulled Lisbon closer to him by the waist and gestured to Alison. "My new _friend_ Alison kept me company a little bit."

Lisbon didn't miss the slight irritation he'd laced in while using the term 'friend'. she looked at the other woman and smiled, holding out her hand. "Hello. I'm Teresa Lisbon. Thanks for keeping _my_ husband company."

"Oh, it's _nothing_." Alison stood and shook Lisbon's hand though there was distaste hidden in the tone of her voice. "We were just saying how nice it might be for a walk while the night is _still young_."

Was that…? No. She did not just indirectly take a shot at Lisbon's age and call her old. Fine. If that's how she wants to play it, she can. "Well, a walk sounds nice." Lisbon gave a tight smile. "I was just thinking about how _easy_ people are to talk to here."

A spark of anger flashed in Alison's eyes. "I'm sure you would think so. First impressions aren't always right."

"No." Lisbon sighed. "But sometimes they are."

"Well." Jane cut in before Alison could shoot back another comment. "I was thinking that maybe you and I go for a dance, Teresa? See if your first impression of my dancing was right?" His grip on her waist tightened slightly, encouraging her to agree.

Lisbon looked up at him and smiled. "That sounds lovely."

"Excuse us." Jane smiled at Alison and took Lisbon's hand to lead her to the dance floor.

"Of course." Alison smiled back.

"I hope _your date_ shows up soon." Lisbon batted her eyelashes at Alison as they passed. It was too tempting. She _had_ to say it.

"I'm sure she's going to love you for that." Jane said sarcastically as he found a spot on the dance floor and turned to face her. He twirled her before bringing her flush against him, one of his hands holding hers and his other at her waist with hers on his shoulder as they started to dance to the slow music.

"She doesn't like me anyway." Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"It's not like we're really gonna see her again after tonight." Jane smiled. "So, I guess a few irritated comments can't hurt." He smiled.

Lisbon smirked.

Jane leaned down and whispered in her ear. "She's watching us, you know."

"Oh, of course she is." Lisbon grumbled into his ear quietly.

"You really want to piss her off?" Jane smiled.

"I don't know. It depends on what you have in mind."

Jane opened his mouth to explain his idea when the song ended and a new, faster paced song played. "Better idea." He told her. "For now, we dance."

"Okay. But wha-" Jane spun her quickly and adapted his dancing to be appropriate for the music. It took a moment but she gave in and danced as well. They seemed to be a good pair, twirling and spinning. Jane picked her up and spun her as she let out a small yelp and quickly put her down, grabbing her hand to twirl her again and she laughed. They had gained the attention of some of the other guests, both dancing and non-dancing. Lisbon spun out and as she spun back, Jane pressed his lips to hers, grabbed her waist and dipped her as the song ended.

There were whistles and a small applause as they stood back up and Lisbon's cheeks reddened. She hadn't noticed that they were drawing the attention of others. Jane just pulled her close and kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear.

"I think she's angry now."

Lisbon smiled. Oh, the other woman was probably livid.

Jane gave everyone a small bow and Lisbon followed suit with a curtsy and they headed off to get a drink of water.

-Mentalist-

Melody made her way into the adults party. Ellie was tired and her parents were going to take her home for the night, and she was tired too. She weaved through the crowds of unfamiliar adults. "'Scuse me," she hurried through. "T-Mommy? Mommy!? Daddy?" Melody didn't see them, so climbed up onto a nearby chair, but when she still couldn't see them, she climbed on the table. "Mommy!" Melody spotted Lisbon further away, talking to some people. Quickly, she climbed back down and ran toward her aunt. "Mommy!" She broke through the crowd and Lisbon turned to look at her.

"Melody." She crouched down just in time for Melody to run into a hug instead of her side. "Is everything okay?" Lisbon asked, pulling away to look at Melody.

Melody nodded. "I'm tired." And then she had to quickly cover a yawn.

"Alright, then. We'll go home." Lisbon smiled and picked Melody up.

"So this is Melody?" Mandy asked, smiling. "Patrick was right. She looks exactly like you."

"Thank you." Was all Lisbon trusted herself to say. "But I should be heading off. We've got an early morning tomorrow."

"Alright." Mandy smiled. "Have a nice night." She gave them a hug and then Lisbon left in search of Jane.

It didn't take long for her to find him, talking with some other men, though Melody was already starting to doze off on her shoulder. "Patrick." Lisbon gave him a small smile as she approached him. "Think it's about time we call it a night?"

"I think so." Jane smiled at her. "You tired, Melody?"

Melody just gave him a small nod and snuggled more into Lisbon's shoulder.

"Can you hold her for a moment?" Lisbon asked. "I just need to use the washroom and then we can go."

"Of course." Jane held out his hands and took Melody from Lisbon before she hurried off.

"I guess we'll let you go home? Get some rest before your trip?" One of the men Jane was talking to said.

Jane nodded. "I'll see you guys around. Maybe we'll get an invitation back to the next one."

"And give me and my wife some dance lessons?" Another man joked.

Jane laughed. "We'll see. Bye, guys." They all shook hands and the other men left. "Did you have fun?" Jane asked Melody when they were alone.

"Yeah." Melody's eyelids were drooping.

"That's good." Jane smiled and rubbed her back soothingly. "Do a lot of dancing?"

"Mhmmm…" Melody mumbled and then yawned, her head fully resting on his shoulder.

Jane turned to go find somewhere to sit down and accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh. I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you." Jane made sure Melody was alright, she had been startled and woken a bit but was okay, and then held out a hand to help stable the other man if he needed it.

"It's okay." The other man waved his hand dismissively, smiling. "I'm alright."

"Not watching where you're going, Patrick?" Asked a playful voice that Jane was not happy to hear.

"It would seem that I wasn't." Jane tried to reply politely.

"And who is this?" Alison asked, referring to Melody and taking a step closer. "Are you babysitting?"

Melody, now more awake but still tired, looked at Alison and replied. "I'm Melody. This is my daddy. Where are your pants?"

"Excuse me?" Alison was confused, looking down at her outfit.

"You're shirt's really long and you forgot your pants." Melody explained.

"This is a dress." Alison told her.

Melody looked down at Alison's outfit again. "But it's too short to be a dress. Annabeth says that girls who wear too short dresses are chea-"

"Cheerfully confident with their bodies." Jane cut in, not wanting to really start a war.

Melody looked at him and was about to tell him _that's not what Annabeth said_, but Jane raised his brow and Melody wasn't ready to take the challenge. "I'm tired." She mumbled and snuggled into his shoulder. "Can we go home now?"

"Just a few minutes. I'm sure Mommy is almost done." Jane patted her back. Then he addressed the other two adults. "Have a nice night. Bye." He quickly made his way to a table near where the washrooms were. He didn't get the chance to sit down because Lisbon emerged and walked over to him.

"Ready." She told him.

"Off we go, then." He stepped aside to follow her out to the parking lot. The valet promptly found their car and handed over the keys.

Jane quickly strapped the now sleeping Melody into her car seat and climbed into the front passenger seat and they drove off.

Lisbon breathed a sigh of relief once they were about two blocks away from the hall. "Thank goodness that's over."

"I thought you were having fun." Jane looked at her.

"I was. Well…some parts were fun. I just don't like lying to people."

"But other than that…?"

"Other than that, I had a decent time."

"Good." Jane smiled. Most of the drive home was quiet, but a few blocks from her home, Lisbon spoke.

"Thank you." Was all she said.

"Pardon me?" Jane was confused.

Lisbon gave a small shrug. "For making Melody's visit enjoyable for her. She'd probably be bored if it weren't for you."

"Bored?" Jane scoffed. "I doubt it. You fascinate her."

Lisbon sent him a smirk and sideways glance. "Yeah, okay." She said sarcastically. "Be serious, Patrick."

"I _was_ being serious, Teresa."

"Whatever you say." Lisbon sighed as her apartment came into view.

"Fine." Jane shrugged. "You don't have to believe me, but it's true. Change of topic, then."

Lisbon pulled into her driveway and turned off the engine. "Yes?"

"I was meaning to ask. Where'd you get those rings? I'm pretty sure they're real."

Sadness flickered in Lisbon's eyes as she ran the pad of her thumb over the metal bands on her finger. "They were my mothers." She replied very quietly, not removing her gaze from the objects of conversation.

"Oh." Jane felt his heart squeeze. "I'm sorry. I didn't…I…they're very lovely rings."

"Thank you." Lisbon said, distantly.

"Come on." Jane tried to sound a little cheery. "I'm sure you're tired. Lets get to bed, shall we?"

Lisbon looked at him and smiled slightly, nodding. They both got out of the car, Lisbon grabbing Melody, and entered the apartment. Quickly taking off their shoes, they headed upstairs. Lisbon placed Melody on the guest bed and then headed off to change into her pyjamas. When she was done that, she went back to get Melody changed and Jane took the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When Jane emerged from the bathroom, he noticed that both Lisbon's room door and the guest room doors were open. He peeked into the guest bedroom to find that Lisbon was still in there, sitting on the edge of the bed and combing her fingers through Melody's hair. She didn't even seem to notice him approaching until he spoke. "You okay?" He asked quietly.

She flinched and nodded, not even looking at him.

"What? I can't hear you."

Lisbon glanced at him and he saw the glossy tears in her eyes.

"Out with it, Teresa." Jane probed. "If this is about the rings-"

"It's not." Her voice was strained.

Jane sat down next to her on the bed. "Tell me? Please?"

Lisbon clasped both of her hands in her lap and studied them for a few moments before turning to look at him. "I'm angry. And I'm sad."

"Go on." Jane nodded. "I'm with you so far."

Lisbon bit her lip. "She shouldn't have had to hear that. I can't-I can't believe her mother would say something like that to James when she knew Melody could be on the other side of the wall."

"It's not your fault her mother isn't a good mother." Jane brushed some hair behind Lisbon's ear.

"But it really bugs me that she had to _ask_. She had to _ask_ if I was going to give her up for adoption. Like it could have ever been a possibility." She sniffled and gave a small shrug. "I probably shouldn't be this upset. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Jane shook his head and pulled her into a hug. "I understand. You don't have to be sorry. It's going to be fine. I'm sure she knows it would have never happen. She probably just wanted to hear it. Make it final." He kissed her head. "She's not even going to remember that happened when she wakes up tomorrow. We're gonna get up, get on a plane and have a great week at Disneyland."

She pulled away and gave him a small smile, wiping at some of the fallen tears. "You're right."

"Give her a good night kiss, and lets head off to bed. Early morning, Teresa. Don't wanna miss that."

They both gave Melody a good night kiss and headed off to the other room. Lisbon made sure that her alarm was set for the right time and crawled under the covers. She didn't argue when Jane snuggled close to her. She actually snuggled back and closed her eyes. He was right. They were going to have a great week at Disneyland and Melody was going to be fine. They would make sure of it.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, that's it for now. I hope you all liked the chapter, and as always, please review to let me know what you think and if there are any ideas you may have to add to the story, I'm happy to hear them. I look forward to hearing what you all thought! :) Next, it's off to Disneyland they go! Super excited to write those chapters! See you all at the next chapter.  
**


	17. Mouse Ears

**Author's Note: Phew. Chapter 17. I had to rewrite the ending for this about three or four times because I was not satisfied and I don't know why. But, I have now finished it and am decently pleased with the ending. Thank you to everyone who commented so far(got my first review in another language, exciting stuff), I really appreciate it, all of you! So, here is chapter 17!  
**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Mentalist, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.  
**

* * *

"Teresa." She heard a voice whisper. "Teresa. Time to get up. Come on."

Lisbon buried her face in her pillow and grumbled. Her alarm hadn't even gone off yet. Why was Jane trying to wake her up? Couldn't he just let her sleep for however long was left until her alarm went off? "Go away. I'm not getting up until my alarm goes off." Her voice was muffled by her pillow.

"Well, the plane will leave without us, then." Jane said.

Lisbon lifted her head from her pillow a bit, hair mused and looked at him confused. "What do you mean? I set my alarm for 5:30."

"And I turned the alarm off at 5:25."

Lisbon looked at her clock. It told her that it was six o'clock. "Why would you do that?" She gasped, throwing the blankets off herself and was about to scramble in order to get everything ready.

"Relax." Jane held her back. "I already put everything in the car. I even made us a snack to tide us for a little while. And I've already showered so the bathroom is all yours."

"And Melody?"

"Still sleeping. No need to wake her up yet."

Lisbon sighed and got up, grabbing some new clothes to change into and headed off to have a shower.

It was a very hurried shower because she knew that they had to leave by six-thirty to make it to the airport by seven. She walked into the kitchen and Jane gave her the sandwich he had made for her. When they were done eating they went back upstairs to get Melody.

"Wakey, wakey." Lisbon whispered, shaking Melody's shoulder gently.

"Mmmmmm. No." Melody mumbled, turning to her other side.

"But we're going to Disneyland." Lisbon tried to encourage her to get up, but Melody was already back asleep.

"Wow." Jane commented. "That party really took a lot out of her last night. Wrap her up in a blanket and stick her in the car seat. We don't want to keep the plane waiting. Mostly because it won't wait so we'd just miss it." He went over and grabbed a pair of socks out of a drawer for Melody.

Lisbon pulled the covers off of Melody and the little girl curled into a ball. She took the socks from Jane and quickly put them on Melody's feet.

"What should we wrap her in?" Jane asked, looking around.

"She's not a corpse we're trying to bury, Patrick." Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Use my leather jacket. She likes it and it'll keep her warm."

"Your favourite one?"

"The only leather jacket I have, Patrick. I only have one leather jacket. Yes, that is the one I mean."

"Okay. Put those claws away, Miss Lisbon. You can really hurt people with those things. Sheesh." Jane said teasingly before going downstairs to get the jacket.

Lisbon stuck her tongue out at him and scooped Melody up before following him to the ground floor. Together, they managed to swaddle Melody in the jacket and get her to eat half her sandwich before she stubbornly went back to sleep. They double checked to make sure they had everything after strapping Melody into her car seat and drove off to the airport.

-Mentalist-

Jane managed to carry most of the luggage while Lisbon carried Melody and their carryon bag. They met up with the rest of their group and made it through security and into the waiting area.

Lisbon sat down, adjusting Melody.

"Is she _still_ asleep?" Van Pelt asked.

"Yep." Lisbon sighed.

"Lucky." Sarah told her. "Benjamin was up forever last night. I'm glad he's asleep still."

Cho just silently sat at the end of the bench and pulled out his latest book and Van Pelt sat next to him, producing her laptop for some entertainment.

Rigsby sat next to Sarah, chewing on a newly bought sandwich and placing an arm around her shoulders.

Lisbon wondered briefly where Jane was and looked around. No sign of him. Of course. That was typical of him.

"Here you go."

Lisbon turned to see Jane standing next to her holding two cups in his hands, one of which was being held out to her. "Thank you." She took the offered cup with one hand. It was coffee.

"No problem." He sat down on her right between her and Rigsby with his cup of tea. "You excited?" He asked her quietly with a smile.

"I'd be even more excited if I weren't so tired." She yawned. "I wish I were Melody. She gets to sleep."

Jane chuckled. "Well. I _was_ planning on sleeping for the time we have to wait and have you on watch duty, but if you _really_ want, I could sacrifice that and be on watch duty while you take a cat nap."

"Oh, my hero." Lisbon said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "It's fine." she gave a small laugh. "I think I'll survive."

-Mentalist-

Lisbon placed her suitcase by the door and Jane did the same before the three of them took off their shoes and ventured further into their room. She had managed to sleep on the plane, and as a result, felt much more rested. The room was quite impressive in her opinion. It was literally like something out of a Disney movie, but she supposed that was the whole point. The floors were pure white tile and the walls were nice bright colours that weren't overbearing. The windows were big with nice curtains and they even had a little sitting room. The furniture was very nice. To the right of their little sitting room were two doors. There was also another door on the left and against the wall was what passed off as a kitchen area with a fridge, microwave and table. Clearly no one would be cooking any gourmet meals in this room. The big sliding glass doors showed a medium sized balcony with a view of some of the park.

"Wow!" Melody gasped and ran past the two adults to climb up on one of the couches before rolling back off and crawling under the coffee table. "Look at it!"

"Yes, it's very nice." Lisbon said, picking Melody up as she tried to climb onto the coffee table. "No climbing on tables." She put Melody down. "Why don't you find your room?"

"Okay!" Melody hurried over to the door on the left.

Lisbon sighed.

"She's just excited." Jane laughed. "You would be to if you were her."

"Nope." Melody called. "That's the bathroom. It's very nice." Then she ran to check the doors on the other side of the room.

Lisbon tried to say something but was cut off.

"FOUND IT!" Melody yelled excitedly, drawing the attention of both adults.

Jane and Lisbon went to see Melody's room. Jane whistled when he turned the light switch on. The walls were light pink with an oak tree painted on one wall with its branches covered in pretty colourful flowers that stretched out around all the other walls and nice painted birds flying. Tucked into the far left corner was a child's bed with semi-transparent colourful screens hanging from the ceiling around it. There was a purple nightstand next to it with a Disney Princess lamp and a black plastic hat with Mickey Mouse ears on it.

"Look!" Melody hurried over and picked up the cap, holding it out to show them. On the front and back of the cap in pretty gold font was written _Melody_.

"It's very nice." Jane said, taking the hat from Melody and put it on her, tucking the elastic under her chin.

She ran over to the child-sized vanity on the other side of the room with a big light-rimmed mirror to see how it looked. "I like it."

"You look very cute." Jane told her.

Melody turned and smiled brightly. "Thank you." She ran back over to them both still wearing her hat. "We should go see your room!" She grabbed Lisbon's hand and tried to pull her along.

"Okay, okay." Lisbon and Jane followed into the next room. It was also very nice. It had chocolate brown walls, a cushy king-sized bed in the middle, a big window with a park view, a regular sized vanity and a closet. On the nightstand next to the bed, there were two adult sized replicas of Melody's Mickey hat.

"You got hats, too!" Melody looked up at both of them.

"Come on!" Jane said enthusiastically, holding out his hand, taking Melody's and the pair hurried over. Jane picked up the hat that said _Patrick_ on it and fit it onto his head, with some effort due to his curls, and then fixed the elastic. "How does it look?"

"Good." Melody nodded.

Jane gave her the hat that said _Teresa_ on it and she took it to her aunt, holding it up in front of her with both hands, smiling.

Lisbon took the hat and put it on. She knew there was no way she would look as cute as Melody in it. But, on the bright side, she wasn't going to look as silly as Jane. That made it okay in her book. Well…that. And the fact that it made Melody happy. "How about we go get the others and get something to eat?" Lisbon suggested.

"Okay!" Melody nodded. "Come on, Patrick."

-Mentalist-

Everyone had decided to call it an early night. They had taken a nice tour of the resort and some of the park. They saw a show and made plans to attend some of the other events that were going to be happening throughout the week they were there. Cho had surprised her by actually wearing his Mickey ears hat-even if it had taken much pleading from Melody. Lisbon hadn't expected the stoic agent to give in, but he did. Not even the women passing by with their hidden giggles that were clearly directed at him fazed him. He just gave them one of his usual passive glances and continued on with his life.

"Goodnight, Teresa." Melody gave her aunt a hug and a kiss.

"Goodnight, Melody." Lisbon kissed her head.

"Goodnight, Patrick."

"Goodnight, Melody." Jane also gave her a kiss on the head and the two adults left her room, closing the door behind them.

"So?" Jane asked as they walked into their bedroom.

"_So_?" Lisbon repeated.

"Are you enjoying yourself so far? Think we're going to have a good time here for the rest of the week?"

"Yeah, I think so." Lisbon smiled at him as she sat down on the side of the bed. "Especially if Melody can get Cho to wear that hat for the rest of the week. If she does, I'll pay her college tuition. That's talent."

Jane laughed and sat down next to her on the bed. "She'll probably at the very least, try."

Lisbon's smile widened a bit. A comfortable silence fell between them and Jane debated whether he wanted to speak or not.

"Speaking of Melody." Jane cleared his throat.

Lisbon's attention was back on him and he tried to look in her eyes, but had to look away, a little embarrassed. "What about Melody?" She asked.

_Lie_. His mind told him. _Cover it up with something else. What are you doing?_ But Jane knew that he had to tell her sooner or later. And, despite Melody's best efforts, she was probably going to accidentally blurt it out sooner or later anyway. "I sort of…well, I…I promised her something."

"_Jane_." Lisbon said, sceptically. "What did you _do_?"

"Nothing bad, Teresa." Jane shook his head.

Lisbon kept her voice as quiet as possible. "Don't _Teresa_ me, Jane. What did you do? And what made you start calling me Teresa instead of Lisbon anyway?"

"Would you rather have me call you Lisbon?"

"No-ye-no-_Jane_. That's not the point. What did you tell her?" It was hard to keep her voice quiet. All she wanted to do was yell at him.

"I said I _promised_ her some-"

"Whatever you want to call it."

"Calm down-"

"Tell me what you said to her."

"Well I'm going to. Just calm-"

"Stop telling me to be calm."

"I'm not going to tell you if you're just going to overre-"

"Overreact!?" She hissed. "I'm worried now. What did-"

"I promised to tell you I love you." Jane blurted in his 'don't let the walls hear' voice.

"You…you-what?"

Jane wanted to reply. He really did, but he hadn't planned on saying it like that and the fact that, that's how it came out shocked him into wordlessness. They just looked at each other in silent shock for a few minutes.

"When…did this happen?" Lisbon asked, unmoving. "You can't lie to her like that."

"Lie to her? I officially just made that the truth. Just now."

"Right." Lisbon blinked and looked away. "You never said that you would mean it. Why promise her something like that?"

"Whoa, whoa, Teresa." Jane reached out and took hold of Lisbon's arm, though she still didn't turn to look at him and her face was hidden behind her hair.

"It's fine." She mumbled and tried to get up, but he held to her arm and kept her from leaving. "Whatever."

"Teresa." Jane pleaded. "Let me explain. Please." He held her arm for a few more moments until he was pretty sure she wouldn't leave if he let go. When he released her arm, he spoke again. "I'm not lying. I love you. I may not always act like it, but I trust you the most out of everyone and I care about you."

"I don't see how Melody fits in with it."

"She…she brought us closer together. I think so, anyway." Jane shrugged. "She's what really helped me realise…that…I, love you."

Lisbon turned her head slightly to glance at him and he peered over at her.

"After we went to the carnival." Jane continued. "The next morning, she asked if I loved you. I couldn't tell her no. I realised I would have been lying to her and I didn't want to do that. I promised to tell you as long as she didn't say anything."

Lisbon fully turned to look at him, bringing her arms up to hug herself, suddenly feeling a little chilled. "I…it…this is so unprofessional."

Jane snorted. "You've worked with _me_ for how long? And then think about our past few weeks. And you're concerned about 'professional'? That ship has sailed and you, my dear Teresa, missed the departure."

She blushed and looked away. "That's not…"

"Why so shy all of a sudden? We've basically lived together for the past two weeks. Slept in the same bed. Pretended to be married. On multiple occasions."

"But…" Lisbon protested. "That was different."

"How?" Jane asked.

"It just was."

"That's not an answer."

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way." She retorted.

"I've tried to imagine your reaction many times, and I have to say, this was not a reaction I envisioned."

"So, you were wrong, then. I'm not such an open book to you. Oh, right. I suppose this is the part where I say," she made her voice a little squeaky. "_I love you too, Patrick. Forever and ever. Lets make out, move in together, get married and live happily ever after_."

"Well. That sounds a little like _PG 13 _Disney, but it's better than a rejection. So, what do I have to do to get that reaction?" Jane replied a little light-heartedly.

Lisbon snorted. "Yeah, right. Like that would ever be my reaction." She said sarcastically.

Jane scooted closer to her and gave her a hug. "That's part of why I love you." He murmured into her hair.

She was unsure how to react at first, but then just gave in and hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few moments, just content with their company.

"We should probably go to bed now." Jane whispered to her. "We have a long day and a four-year-old to keep up with."

Lisbon pulled away enough to look at him. "Yeah. Sleep sounds like a good idea."

He nodded and then leaned in slowly, giving her time to turn away before pressing his lips to hers gently. He was pleased to note that she didn't turn away and that she even kissed him back. Lisbon was blushing deeply when he pulled back and that caused him to smile more. "Bed time." He reminded her, ushering her to lie down.

"Yeah." She mumbled and they both climbed under the nice sheets.

"You didn't really answer me." Jane said, pulling the covers over them.

"What?"

"I told you that I love you and you didn't really reply to that."

She looked at him for a moment, then moved closer to him and kissed his nose. "Good enough?" She asked.

"Yeah." Jane smiled and hugged her close.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Jane yawned as they snuggled together.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, yeah. That was basically the fourth revised ending I wrote. I have to admit rewriting the ending was getting annoying, but I didn't want to post a chapter with an ending that I wasn't happy with. And let me know what you thought of the ending, please. Good? Bad? Feedback is appreciated.  
**

**Also. Am I the only one who feels the Mentalist should make a Halloween episode and an episode where Jane and Lisbon legitimately go undercover?  
**


	18. Fireworks

**Author's Note: Hi everyone!...Sorry for taking so long to update. I was hit with this wave of procrastination. That's not a good excuse or anything, I know, but that's what happened. So, I finally got this finished-it was longer than I expected, actually- and I'd figure I would update and just duck and weave and hope you all don't throw anything too painful to be hit with. Haha. Here is chapter 18!  
**

**Disclaimer: I'm sure we all know I don't own the Mentalist. But a girl can dream, right?  
**

* * *

Jane couldn't help smiling when he next opened his eyes and he smelled cinnamon and the first person he saw was Lisbon. She was still sleeping, of course, curled peacefully against his chest and breathing evenly. The first time he had woken up with her in his arms he had decided that, that was something he could get used to and it was looking like a greater possibility with each day now. He gently pushed some of her hair from her face and kissed her forehead as she snuggled closer in her sleep. Yeah. He could _definitely_ get used to this. A glance at the travelers clock she had placed on the bedside table told him that it was 4 in the morning. He kissed the crown of Lisbon's head and breathed in her lovely scent. Then, he heard the door creak open a little bit and glanced over to see it had opened a fraction, but then stopped. It opened some more, slowly, and then a small shadowy figure slipped into the room quietly and hurried over to the bed. He heard Melody grunt slightly with the effort of hauling herself onto the mattress. It was a bit of a high mattress. "What are you doing up this early?" In the dim light from the outside lamps he saw Melody flinch and look at him, surprised.

"I had to pee." Melody whispered back, albeit sleepily. "When are we going to go see the princesses?"

"It'll be a little while longer. They're still sleeping, except you."

Melody tilted her head. "I'm not a princess."

"Don't you want to be a princess?"

Melody shook her head.

"What do you want to be?"

"I want to be a pirate ninja princess."

Jane had to bite back his laughter. Of course, she couldn't be a _normal_ princess. She had to be a…pirate ninja princess? Where did she even come up with that? "Well. A princess nonetheless. Come on. You need to sleep."

Melody glanced over the side of the mattress, not wanting to climb all the way back down.

Jane saw her hesitation. "_Over here_." He smiled and held out a hand to her.

Melody tried to climb over Lisbon without waking the woman up and found it difficult. Jane helped her and made some space between himself and Lisbon for her to lie down.

"Comfy?" Jane asked.

"Mhm." Melody settled herself. "How much longer until the princesses?"

"I promise that if you close your eyes and go to sleep, it'll feel like no time at all."

"Okay." Melody closed her eyes and managed to quickly fall back asleep.

-Mentalist-

The next time Jane woke up, sunlight was shining in the room. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Lisbon and Melody, both with their faces turned into the pillow to try and block out the morning light. Jane propped himself up on one elbow and leaned over to whisper in Lisbon's ear. "Wake up."

Lisbon just grumbled and snuggled into her pillow more.

"Wakey, wakey, Teresa." He whispered then kissed her temple.

"Five'mer'minutes." She slurred, trying to turn to her other side, facing away from the window.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to her's. There was a moment for Lisbon's sleeping mind to process what had happened and just as she was about to kiss him back, he pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open to the sight of him smirking down at her.

"There's my angry little princess. I guess there really is only one way to wake your type up."

"Shut up." Lisbon smacked his shoulder lightly and then yawned.

"Abusing prince charming already? Goodness, Teresa."

"When you see my prince charming, can you let him know that my guard is hitting on me? I don't think he'll appreciate that much." She shot back with a smirk of her own.

"Or you could tell him yourself. He's right here."

"Where? I do believe you said that my prince was _charming_."

"Teresa. Keep that up and you will have neither." Jane pouted, jokingly.

She just smiled and then noticed Melody next to here. "When did she get in here?"

"Early in the morning." Jane sat up and stretched. "She wanted to go see the princesses."

"Was it still dark out?"

"Yeah." Jane smiled and nodded. "I guess pirate ninja princesses aren't scared of the dark."

"Pirate what now's?"

"Pirate. Ninja. Princesses." Jane repeated. "She doesn't want to be a _normal_ princess. She wants to be a pirate ninja princess."

"What is that, then?"

"I honestly do not know." Jane shook his head. "A princess with a tiara, a parrot, an eye patch and a sword?"

Lisbon smiled, picturing Melody wearing such a thing. It was very plausible, really.

Jane slipped off his side of the bed. "Ready to take on the day?"

"I think so." Lisbon got up, too.

-Mentalist-

By nine their entire group had met up and found two tables to sit at in the big ballroom set up for the breakfast buffet and it was quite crowded. Cho, Rigsby, Sarah and Ben sat at one table while Lisbon, Jane, Melody and Van Pelt sat at the table beside it. After quickly eating their breakfast, they all headed out to the theme park.

"That one!" Melody pointed. "The Dumbo ride!"

They all looked in that direction to see the ride with the flying elephants and agreed to go on it.

Melody wiggled excitedly in her seat between Lisbon and Jane as the park employee made sure their seat belts were done up fine.

"Have you ever ridden on a flying elephant before?" Jane asked Melody.

"No." Melody shook her head.

"Neither have I. All the elephants I've seen were of the walking variety." He responded. "How about you, Teresa?"

"Nope. This is my first time riding a flying elephant." Lisbon said.

The ride attendant came over the speakers and told them all to remain seated and keep all hands and feet inside the ride at all times.

"The ride is starting." Melody held out one hand to each of the adults and they took the offered hand. "Wwwweeeeeee!" Melody squealed as the ride started.

Jane and Lisbon laughed and joined with her.

-Mentalist-

By one in the afternoon, Melody had fallen asleep while Jane was carrying her. They told the others to go on without them and assured them that they would catch up. They sat at a table in the shade of a big tree and relaxed for a little bit.

"It's a nice day." Jane commented.

"It is." Lisbon nodded and then rummaged around in the shoulder bag she was carrying.

"What are you looking for?" Jane asked.

Lisbon produced the bottle of sunscreen that she had been looking for.

"Again with the sunscreen?" Jane rolled his eyes. "Come on. You're going to kill the poor girl with that stuff."

"Am not." Lisbon protested. "You want to deal with a four-year-old with a sunburn?"

"No, but she's fine."

Lisbon got up from her seat across the table.

Jane turned himself away from Lisbon so she couldn't get to Melody. "No." He told her.

"Jane." Lisbon sighed heavily.

"Lisbon." Jane replied smoothly.

"Give Melody over."

"No."

"Don't be immature. You can get sunburned all you want, I promise. Just give me Melody."

"Nope."

"_Patrick_." Lisbon crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow at him.

He turned back to face her, smiling. She was cute when she was angry. "Teresa."

"Give Melody to me, please?"

"No." Jane shook his head. "It's going to take more than 'please', Teresa."

"What do you want? A puppy?"

"No. Not quite. Puppies are cute, but I'm sure we could think up something better for you to give me. Though you're still not getting Melody."

Lisbon sighed and leaned against the table, placing the bottle on it. "_Pretty_ please?"

Jane just gave her an amused look and shook his head.

"With a cherry on top?"

Nothing.

"_Come. On._"

Jane just sat there.

Fine. She had more than one card to play. Now this was a challenge. One she was intent on winning. Jane almost always won the challenges. No. It was her turn. She was going to win this one for the simple fact that she was Teresa Lisbon and she was going to win. That was it. She pouted slightly and leaned forward, getting in his face. "Please, _Patrick_."

Her sudden proximity surprised him, but didn't displease him. It didn't matter though. She wasn't going to win. He had to win. He was Patrick Jane. She wasn't going to get the opportunity to take Melody back. Nope. Not a chance. It didn't matter how nice his name sounded when she said it…or how pretty her eyes were…or how nice she smelled…_No_. He was decided. He was going to stand his ground. He wasn't going to let her-

Lisbon leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. He didn't hesitate before returning the kiss.

-what wasn't he going to let her do, again? There was something he wasn't going to let her do? Something about a song? A kid's song? Did it matter?

He barely even registered that Lisbon had plucked Melody from his arms as she pulled away from the kiss, until she was standing there smiling and holding the little girl. Suddenly, he was reminded of what he wasn't going to let her do. But he had let her. She had won. And judging from the look on her face, she knew it too.

"Thank you." She smiled with pink cheeks, picking up the sun screen bottle and returning to her seat.

"Th-that wasn't fair." Jane sputtered.

It was Lisbon's turn to be amused. For once, _she_ had won and _he_ was the one left babbling like an idiot. "What wasn't fair about it?" She opened the bottle.

"Everything."

She snorted. "It was all fair."

"No it wasn't." He muttered under his breath as Lisbon added another layer of sunscreen to Melody.

The little girl woke up a little while later and they set off to the rides again after grabbing a snack.

-Mentalist-

They had managed to catch up with the others and as it started getting later, they headed back to the resort to get some dinner. Once again, the ballroom was quite busy with the dinner buffet, but they managed to grab some seats. Jane carried Melody and a plate for himself while Lisbon carried her own plate and a plate for Melody.

"Alright. What do you want?" Lisbon asked Melody as they got to the buffet table.

"Rice." Melody replied, spying the food item. "And chicken. Mashed potatoes. Corn-"

"Slow down." Lisbon laughed, trying to grab the requested items while putting some of her own choice onto her own plate.

Jane's plate was steadily filling up.

"We didn't see the princesses." Melody blurted in the middle of their supper, disappointed.

"That's okay." Jane told her. "They live here. We can see them whenever we want to see them."

"Can we see them now?"

"Except now."

Melody pouted. "But you said whenever we want."

"Whenever we want during the day." Jane clarified. "Now it's the evening and they want to relax and watch the fireworks from their palace."

"Oh." Melody, disappointed, forked some more rice and chicken into her mouth.

"We can go tomorrow. Right after we buy you a new crown, so you can show them. You don't want to go see them without a crown, do you?" Jane didn't want to see her disappointed. She was at _Disneyland_.

"No." Melody replied around a mouthful of food.

"Exactly." Jane nodded. "First thing tomorrow, I'll take you to go get a new crown."

"Really?" Melody smiled.

"Of course."

Melody did a little small happy bounce in her seat and continued eating.

After dinner they all went back to their rooms and changed into warmer clothes for the fireworks. Lisbon, Jane and Melody were getting their shoes back on when two envelopes were slipped under the door. Being the closest, Lisbon picked them up. The first envelope was a pristine white with gold trimming and in flowing gold script on the back read the word _Invite_. Melody and Jane watched curiously as Lisbon turned the envelope over and opened it, pulling out a light pink card with the black Mickey Mouse head silhouette that Disney always used on the front. She opened the card and read it in her head, then smiled and handed the card to Jane to read. Melody was still curious.

Jane cleared his throat and read the card out loud in his best announcer voice for Melody. "Dear Melody, Teresa and Patrick. You are cordially invited to the Disneyland Ball held every Saturday as honoured guests. A formal event with a lovely dinner, dancing and music. We look forward to seeing you there and hope you have a wonderful stay here at Disneyland. Love, the Disney Family."

Melody gasped. "We're invited to the Ball?" She hopped up and down excitedly.

"It would appear so." Jane smiled down at her.

"How exciting!" Lisbon scooped Melody up and kissed her on the cheek as the girl giggled.

"What does the other envelope say?" Jane asked.

Lisbon put Melody down and opened the other envelope that was a beige colour. She pulled out the note inside and smiled. "That's not bad."

"What?"

"It seems Van Pelt, Sarah and I get a complimentary spa treatment tomorrow morning."

"What?" Jane leaned over and read the note over Lisbon's shoulder. "Wow. I'm sure you three are going to love that."

"It sounds lovely." Lisbon put the notice in her sweater pocket and made sure she had everything before they left. Jane picked up the picnic blanket they had found in a cupboard and they headed out.

They found the hill where people were gathering to watch the fireworks and picked a spot near the top. Rigsby, Sarah and Ben had a blanket to site on, probably found in their room as well and Cho and Van Pelt didn't seem to mind sharing one together.

"Oh. I'll be right back." Jane said to her as soon as they had spread out the blanket and hurried off before Lisbon could protest.

Lisbon just sighed and sat down on the blanket, Melody flopping down next to her and sprawling out. Lisbon smiled and lightly poked Melody's side earning her a small _hah_ and wiggle from the little girl. She poked her again and got a little bit more of a reaction. Then she full out began to tickle her and Melody laughed loudly, trying to squirm away, but Lisbon caught her and pulled her back. She flopped backward and landed on her back, laughing with Melody and the pair had earned the attention of some of the people nearby, including their friends. Lisbon stopped when she saw Jane standing next to the blanket, looking amused. She sat up and looked at him, still holding onto Melody. "What?"

"I just have a surprise." Jane said, sitting on the blanket and placing something behind his back.

"What is it?" Melody asked.

Jane held up one of the items, but neither female could make sense of what it was in the minimal light. "Come here." Jane said to Melody and patted the blanket in front of him.

Lisbon let go of Melody and the girl took the few steps over to stand in front of Jane. Jane flicked the switch to turn the object on and placed it on Melody's head.

Melody smiled brightly and giggled as she looked up and saw the colourful flashing antennae that bobbed around on the headband.

Jane flicked one of them with his finger and it bobbed around some more. "You like it? I saw someone selling them and I thought you would like them."

"I do!" Melody nodded, causing the antennae to bob around.

"Wait. I have something else for you, too." Jane reached behind him again and revealed another object. He flipped the switch and the little plastic sword lit up with an array of colours.

Melody gasped, smile brightening as she took the sword from Jane. "Thank you!" She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

He hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the cheek back. A boy about Melody's age ran by with an identical sword and joined a group of children playing a little further down the hill.

Melody watched as he ran and then turned to look at Lisbon. "Can I go play with them?"

Lisbon looked at the group of playing children and was hesitant. She didn't want Melody to run off or get lost, but at the same time she couldn't smother the girl. "Sure." Lisbon nodded, looking back at Melody.

"Thank you." Melody turned to run down and join the other children, but Lisbon grabbed her hand.

"Hold on."

Melody turned back and stepped closer to her aunt.

"You stay where I can see you, okay? No running off."

Melody nodded. "Okay."

Lisbon brushed her thumb over Melody's cheek. "Do I get a kiss?"

"Yeah." Melody leaned forward and kissed Lisbon's nose.

Lisbon returned the gesture and Melody ran off. "Come back when the fireworks start." Lisbon called after her.

"Okay!"

Lisbon watched Melody run down the hill, flashing sword creating light patterns in the dark and flashing antennae bobbing around wildly as she ran. Lisbon smiled. Melody seemed to be the only one with antennae on her head, making her easier to pick out. She felt Jane plunk something on her head and glanced upward to see a pair of flashing antennae, identical to the one,s Melody had, and then turned her head to look at Jane who also wore a pair of his on.

Jane smiled back, then made a funny cross-eyed face and tilted his head quickly from side to side, making the flashing accessories bounce around wildly.

Lisbon bit her lip, holding back the laughter at how ridiculous Jane looked. "You couldn't resist, could you?" She teased. "What is it with you and ridiculous accessories?"

"They are not ridiculous." Jane said promptly and moved so he was sitting next to her, their shoulders touching. "You love my taste in clothes and accessories."

Lisbon just snorted and returned her attention to the crowds of people on the hill.

"If it's any consolation," Jane bumped her shoulder. "You're the cutest bug I've ever seen."

"Oh, you're a bug, too." She replied light-heartedly and smirking. "The cute part, meh."

Jane took a moment to decide how to react, and his lack of a quick reply made Lisbon open her mouth to tell him she was kidding, but he interrupted her. He threw his arms around her and hugged her close, pressing his cheek to her's.

Lisbon grunted at the force of being pulled against him unexpectedly. "Jane." She protested quietly, trying to move away but he held steady.

"Patrick." He corrected.

"Fine. Let go?"

"Nope." He smiled and buried his face in her hair. "You hurt my feelings. Now you have to give me a hug to make up for it. A long hug. It was the last straw, Teresa."

Lisbon reached around him with one arm and gave him a few pats on the back. "Okay. Hug's over."

Jane chuckled. "Not even close, my dear. But. If you really don't want to hug my feelings better, I guess I could settle for a kiss."

"You want me to kiss your feelings?" Lisbon raised a brow jokingly, even though he couldn't see it.

"If by feelings, you mean lips, then you're right on the money." Jane whispered back.

Lisbon's blush deepened and she glanced around like anyone else could have heard Jane's low whisper. Clearly, they hadn't. No one was even paying attention to them. "When is this hug done?"

"Mmmmm…" Jane murmured, pretending to think. "Whenever I get tired of hugging you, though we could be here for a really long time. Or, until you decide to kiss me."

"This isn't funny."

"Well, that's good then, 'cause I'm not laughing." Though the smile was very evident in his voice.

Lisbon grumbled.

"Well you didn't object to kissing me before."

"Shut up. This is different. And if you recall, two of those times you didn't even ask or give warning."

"Details, details."

"Damn it. Hurry up. I want to actually see the fireworks." Lisbon grumbled.

"Hurry up and _what_?" Jane asked, teasingly.

Lisbon groaned and rolled her eyes. "Kiss me." She said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry? I'm not sure I heard what you said." Jane pulled away just enough to look at her, smiling. He was much too amused for her liking. He tried to take her seriously, but the flashing antennae he had placed on her head were making that a very difficult task.

"_Seriously_." He was actually beginning to peeve her a bit. She leaned forward, crashing her lips to his and it took him a second to actually realise what she had done. He had not expected it at all.

As he went to return the gesture, there was a loud bang in the distance and many _oo's_ and _ah's_ that followed from the crowd.

Lisbon pulled away quickly and turned to look at the horizon, as a shadowy figure with bobbing, flashing antennae and a swinging sword ran up to them.

"They're starting!" Melody yelled excitedly.

"Yeah, hurry!" Lisbon sat up properly and crossed her legs for Melody to sit on and the girl did.

Lisbon took off Melody's and her own antennae as they were irritating, boggling around in the air, and placed them on the blanket next to her. She wrapped her arms around Melody and kissed her hair. A few moments passed of watching the fireworks and Lisbon thought she felt something crawling on her hand. She flinched backward a little bit and bumped against Jane who chuckled and helped steady her. She smiled at him gratefully, still blushing slightly.

He smiled at her blush, leaning against her as he allowed her to lean against him. And that's how they stayed for the rest of the fireworks.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yay! So that's chapter 18. Hopefully that was worth the wait, let me know what you thought. And thanks to Pen99 and Jisbon8D for their reviews on the last chapter as well as everyone else who has reviewed so far! You guys are awesome. :)  
**


	19. All That Glitters

**Author's Note: Dear everyone, sorry again for the wait. I don't even know what's wrong with me that I'm being so unproductive. I have everything planned in my head, then I get to my computer and it all goes "poof" so I end up just sitting there staring at my computer like, "MAKE WORDS!" It never does. I have to do that myself. :P Anyway. This chapter is also longer than I thought it was going to be. I have perfected my ducking and weaving technique just in case, though. Also, thanks to Irisun, AngryLittlePrincess, House ever, LAurore and "Guest"(of whom I think is either Pen99 or Jisbon8D, but I'm not 100% sure) for all your awesome reviews. It keeps me going guys!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist. Yady, yady yadda.  
**

* * *

Jane sat on the couch, relaxing and just taking in the room. He and Lisbon had been up a little bit earlier to just relax before Lisbon went to her spa morning. The woman in question was fixing herself a cup of coffee in the kitchenette, stirring in her ingredients and then making her way back to the couch. She sat down and leaned into Jane's side as he put an arm around her shoulders and rested his cheek on her head. Lisbon sipped her coffee and they sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"You excited?" Jane asked. "For your little spa treatment."

She smiled up at him. "Of course. I'm really looking forward to it."

"You know what this means though, right?"

"No. What?" She was equally confused and worried.

"I can't take Melody to see the princesses right after I get her a new crown."

"Why not?" Lisbon was shocked. "You promised to take her."

"I can't take her without _you_." Jane poked Lisbon's shoulder lightly to emphasize the word 'you'.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because it would be no fun without you. Besides. You can't honestly tell me that you would want to miss Melody meeting the Disney princesses. If she were boring or prone to tantrums, I would completely understand, but she is neither. Plus, you would kick yourself later if you missed something like that of Melody's life."

Lisbon leaned forward and put her coffee on the table, then settled back against his side smiling. "You're right. I couldn't miss that. I'd be really disappointed if I did."

"Exactly. You're lucky I understand that, or else I might have taken her."

"Don't say that." Lisbon smacked his chest lightly as Jane chuckled.

"No need to worry so much, Teresa." Jane kissed her head. "I'll make sure you don't miss it."

"Oh, you're just the most chivalrous man I ever did meet." Lisbon sighed sarcastically, leaning her head against his shoulder and batting her eyelashes up at him.

"I try for you, my dear." Jane leaned down and kissed her nose. "I try for you."

Just then, a knock at the door drew their attention.

"That's probably Van Pelt and Sarah." Lisbon got up and grabbed her cell phone.

Jane also got up, sighing mentally at their spoiled moment. "Have fun." He smiled as she put her shoes on.

She turned to face him. "I will. Don't forget to take her to get a crown. You promised her, Patrick. And for goodness sake, remember to put sunscreen on her. If she gets a sunburn, I _will_ hurt you."

"Yes, Teresa." Jane sighed teasingly and smiled. "Don't worry. We'll be fine. Just go have fun." He stepped closer to her and planted a kiss on her lips that was returned and lasted a few moments longer than he had intended, but he wasn't complaining.

"I'll see you later." Lisbon mumbled, looking up at him and blushing a bit.

"I look forward to it." Jane smiled as Lisbon opened the door. "Hello ladies. Have fun." Jane waved at the other two women.

"I'm sure we will." Van Pelt replied enthusiastically and waved back.

Lisbon shut the door behind her and was gone with Sarah and Van Pelt. Jane sighed when their voices were no longer audible to him. He made his way over to the door of Melody's room and slowly opened it, peeking inside. The room was very dark since it didn't have a window and he saw the shadowy figure of the screen-draped bed in the corner of the room to his left where Melody slept. Jane opened the door more and stepped through, approaching the bed. He found the space between the screens and pushed them aside so he could sit on the edge of the bed.

"Wakey, wakey." Jane shook Melody's shoulder gently. "Time to get up. It's a beautiful day."

Melody shifted and snuggled into her pillow more, grumbling.

"We're going to get you a crown today." Jane said. "We have to hurry to get breakfast first, though."

Melody sat up tiredly and rubbed her eyes. "Breakfast?"

"Yeah. So hurry and get up and get changed and then we can go get some breakfast and buy you a beautiful crown."

"Okay."

Jane got up and left the room as Melody slipped off the bed and picked out some clothes to change into.

It didn't take long for them to make it into the ball room with the breakfast buffet. Jane wondered for a moment what Rigsby and Cho were doing for the morning while the women were at their spa treatment. Sleeping probably. Whatever it was, he highly doubted they would want to go crown shopping with him and Melody. They both got some food from the buffet and slipped into some barely vacated seats. Melody babbled excitedly about what kind of crown they might find, asking him about what colour it might be and how big it could be and so on. Of course, Jane encouraged her excitement with 'maybe's and 'possibly's.

"Done!" Melody announced as she spooned the last of her food into her mouth which filled her cheeks and she was barely able to keep all the food in her mouth. She looked like a chipmunk.

Jane laughed. "You have to chew properly." He took the last forkful of his eggs while Melody chewed with much effort.

"Now we can go?" Melody asked after actually finishing her food.

"_Now_ we can go." Jane nodded, picked her up, and they were on their way.

Jane and Melody strolled through the pathways of the park with their gift shops hand in hand. Finally, they saw one that looked promising for a crown and went in. To the right was a bunch of princess-y stuff and to the left were more _Toy Story_, _Cars_ and pirate merchandise. One side for girls, the other for boys and then it seemed to mingle in the middle of the store. Jane spotted some shelves on the far back wall that had mannequin heads with shinning crowns on them and walked to it with Melody.

The little girl looked up at the crowns in aw, eyes huge. "They're so pretty."

"See?" Jane picked her up so that she could see better. "What did I tell you? You could get a much nicer crown."

Melody ran her gaze over all the crowns, trying to decide which one was the prettiest.

"Any that stand out to you?"

"Mmmm…" Melody pointed at a gold coloured one with bright yellow jewels to his right.

Jane picked the crown off the mannequin and placed it on her head, then stepped to the side so that she could see it in the mirror.

Melody tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow, contemplating her reflection. She leaned forward a bit to get a closer look and then sat back and looked at Jane, shaking her head.

"No? That's alright. You can try another one. Don't worry." He stepped back in front of the shelf and placed the crown back on the mannequin. "Which one's next?"

They went through about three more crowns before Melody decided. It was silver with a circular hole in the front middle point that a gold star-shaped jewel dangled in while the other jewels scattered over the crown were an array of colours.

"So, this is the one?" Jane smiled.

Melody smiled back and nodded. "This one."

"Alright." Jane was about to go over to the register to pay when something caught his eye. "How about you look around a little bit more, Melody." Jane suggested. "See what other exciting things you can find. But don't leave the store."

"Okay." Melody nodded as Jane put her down and she wandered over to some toy display.

Jane set off to inquire about the object that had caught his eye. He kept Melody in his peripheral vision as he inquired about the object. There was only one, the woman had told him. It was quite pricy, but he got it anyway. Lisbon was going to love it. At least, he felt she was going to love it. She was. Even if it was deep, deep, _dddeeeepppppp_ down and she didn't want to admit it. She was going to love it. With the object safely packaged and bagged, Jane went back to see how Melody was doing. He found her looking through a rack of what seemed like necklaces. Upon further inspection, he noticed they looked like the necklace that King Triton had given to Ariel's daughter in the second _Little Mermaid_ movie. Though, these one's had different names on them.

"Ah-ha!" Melody smiled as she turned the rack and pulled off one of the necklaces. It was an ordinary black string with a golden sea shell with the name _Melody_ etched into the front of it in nice cursive. Just like the one in the movie.

Jane crouched down next to her, keeping the bag as far from her attention as he could. "Is that like the one from the movie?"

"Yeah." Melody nodded. The shell-that was obviously plastic, or something like that- was just barely the size of her little hand. She pressed the latch on the end and opened it, the familiar tune from the movie playing softly as she did so. The bottom part of the shell was a shinny blue and it looked like you could put maybe a few small coins in it. The top had a picture of 'Atlantica' and swimming mermaids and if you moved your head it looked like the mermaids were moving.

"You like it?" Jane asked.

Melody shut it and looked at him. "Yeah." She said shyly. "But you're already getting me the crown-"

"Nonsense." Jane shook his head. "It's alright. You can have that."

"Okay." Melody blushed, not used to people buying so much for her unless it was her birthday or Christmas.

"Okay. If you want, you can get one more thing. One."

Melody looked down at the necklace in her hands and ran her thumbs over the etched name. Then she was hit with an idea. She held the necklace out to Jane and he took it, freeing her hands to rummage through the same rack she had pulled it from.

"You already have one of those." Jane was confused.

"Wait." Melody insisted.

So, Jane waited.

Melody found whatever she was looking for now and tried to pull it off the rack gently, but it was stuck. She frowned slightly and pulled a bit harder. When it still didn't work, she gave it a good yank, almost toppling the whole rack on top of her.

"Hold on." Jane gasped, holding out a hand and steadying the rack before freeing his hands and untangling the black string from the others.

Melody held the newly retrieved necklace and smiled.

"It's the same as this one." Jane held out the first one Melody had grabbed.

"No, it's not." Melody shook her head and held the second one out so he could see the front.

Jane smiled. It was exactly the same as the first one. Except, this one said _Teresa_ on the front of it. "Alright." Jane nodded. "She'll really love that."

Melody smiled and walked with Jane to the cash register. Jane picked her up and placed her sitting down on the counter so the employee could scan and remove the tag on her crown.

"Did you find everything you were looking for, sweetie?" The woman behind the counter asked Melody.

"Yeah, I did." Melody replied cheerfully as she fixed her crown back on her head after it was scanned.

"That crown looks really nice on you."

"Thank you very much!" Melody grinned.

"You're very welcome." The woman smiled, counting out Jane's change.

Jane carefully placed Melody's necklace around her neck and took his change, collecting his other things from the counter and picked Melody up. "Have a nice day." He said to the woman.

"You too." The woman smiled and waved goodbye.

Jane had a feeling that most of the reason she was happy was because of all the money he had spent there. But that wasn't really a problem to him. "Shall we go back to the room and wait for Teresa so that we can go see the princesses?"

"Yeah!"

-Mentalist-

Lisbon waved goodbye to Van Pelt and Sarah and unlocked the room with her key, stepping through the door. She felt very relaxed and happy as the door shut behind her. She couldn't even describe how grateful she was to have gotten that opportunity.

"Teresa!"

Lisbon saw Melody hurrying to the door wearing a new crown and necklace. "Hi!" Lisbon smiled and crouched down, giving Melody a big hug and kiss on the cheek. "How was your morning? I see you went with Patrick and got a new crown. It's very pretty."

"Thank you." Melody smiled. "Me and Patrick got you something, too."

"You did?" Lisbon gasped. "What is it?"

Melody held out the shell necklace with _Teresa_ written on it, smiling.

Lisbon took it from her and admired it. "Is this like the one from the movie?" She asked.

Melody nodded.

"It's so pretty."

Melody opened the locket for her so she could hear the tune and see the picture on the inside.

"It's _beautiful_." Lisbon closed it, smiling, and gave Melody another big kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. I love it."

"You're welcome. Did you have fun?"

"Yes, I did."

Jane joined them at the door. "Are we all ready to go see the princesses?"

"I am." Melody looked at Lisbon.

"Of course." Lisbon nodded. "You have a crown to show them. We have to go."

-Mentalist-

It was quite busy at the Disney castle, but that was to be expected.

"Who do you want to see first?" Lisbon looked down at Melody, who was holding her hand.

"Um…" Melody looked around. "I see Jasmine!"

"Go." Lisbon let go of Melody's hand and lightly pushed her forward.

Melody didn't need any other instructions, she took off running in the direction of Jasmine with Jane and Lisbon walking behind her. "Hi, Jasmine!"

Jasmine looked down and smiled at Melody, crouching to talk to her. "Hi there, sweetie. What's your name?"

"Melody."

"It's very nice to meet you, Melody." Jasmine gave her a hug. "Your crown is very pretty and I like your necklace."

"Thank you. Patrick bought them for me today. A meanie head boy broke my other crown and I was really sad, but then Patrick said he would get me a new one at Disneyland. So he got me this one. Because it was my favourite."

"That's very nice. It sounds like you're having lots of fun."

"I am." Melody nodded.

"Do you mind if we get a picture?" Jane asked Jasmine, holding up the digital camera he had pulled out of the shoulder bag he was wearing.

"Not at all."

"Thank you. Go on, Teresa." Jane nudged her. "Get in the picture."

"No, it's alright." Lisbon shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Go on." Jane placed a hand on her back and gave her a bit of a shove.

"No, I-"

"Come on, Teresa!" Melody held out both her hands. "Come be in the picture with us!"

"Okay." Lisbon sighed and smiled, walking to stand on Melody's other side and crouched down with them.

"Say cheese."

"Cheese!" Melody blurted as Jane snapped the picture.

"You all have a nice day." Jasmine smiled. "Come back and visit any time."

"Okay." Melody smiled and waved as she left with Lisbon and Jane. The next princess they saw was Rapunzel and Melody complimented her on her hair being so long. They got a picture with her as well and continued through the palace yard.

"Hello." said the blond princess in the blue gown and glass slippers as the trio approached. Cinderella.

"Hi, Cinderella." Melody replied, walking over to give the woman a hug.

"Have you met all my friends?"

"Not yet." Melody shook her head.

"I'm sure you will. They'll be very impressed with your crown. It's very nice. Maybe I should get one myself."

Melody grinned and looked back at Patrick. Everyone loved her crown! "Can I ask you something?" Melody turned back to Cinderella.

"Of course."

"Why didn't you just tell the prince the truth? Then you wouldn't have had to run all the way back home. And he wouldn't have had to go looking for you. And if the glass slippers fit your feet perfectly, why did one fall off?"

Lisbon bit her lip, unsure of the reaction Melody might get for those questions.

"I was too nervous to tell him the truth." Cinderella replied, almost unfazed by the questions. "I didn't know how he would take that news. And my slipper got caught on something. I still don't know what, though."

Melody wrinkled her nose. "Was it gum? It's really gross when people spit gum on the ground."

Lisbon and Jane stifled chuckles.

"It really is." Cinderella giggled.

"How about a photo before we go? Cinderella has lots of other people she needs to meet." Jane said.

"Sure." Cinderella nodded.

"Go get in the photo, Patrick." Lisbon said. "I'm going to take this picture."

Jane looked at her. "How can you do that when I have the camera?"

"I have the camera." Lisbon replied plainly.

Jane held the camera in front of him, looking at it oddly. "Well, I'm pretty sure this is the camera."

Lisbon reached out quickly and snatched it from his hand. "It is. And look whose hand it's in." She smirked.

"Oh, clever, Teresa. Clever. I'm going to get you back for that one."

"Yeah, okay." Lisbon smirked as they all got into position and took the picture. They continued on their way after saying goodbye.

They made their way to see all of the Disney princesses. Melody congratulated Mulan on saving China, commented on the similarity between Van Pelt's and Ariel's hair, inquired if Pocahontas thought the new clothes were weird, told Aurora that sleeping too much could be bad for you, asked Snow White if she like the castle or the dwarves house better, and implored if Belle was going to bring the Beast to the ball in prince form or beast for. They managed to get pictures with all of the princesses before leaving the palace yard for the amusement park.

"I had a good time. Did you?" Jane asked Melody.

"Mhm!" Melody nodded enthusiastically. "The princesses are really nice."

"I think they were jealous of your pretty crown." Lisbon smiled and picked Melody up.

"But they're princesses. They have lots of crowns." Melody told her.

"But yours is the prettiest." Lisbon kissed her cheek. "Now, what ride do you want to go on?"

"Can we go on that one?" Melody pointed.

"Sure." Jane smiled, lacing his fingers through Lisbon's and they headed off.

* * *

**Author's note: So that's chapter 19! Can't even believe I've made it this far! Thanks for all your favourites, follows and reviews! You guys are amazing! Please review as usual and see you in the next chapter! :3  
**


	20. Where We Are

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here is chapter twenty! Whoopy! :D I'm excited to have made it to twenty! Anyway. Thanks to Guest1, Guest2, Guest3, wiccanwillowrose8, AngryLittlePrincess, samantha jacobs and Pen99 for all of their awesome reviews. Makes me smile when I see reviews. Really appreciated. Um, the present Jane got for Lisbon won't be revealed in this chapter. I have a plan for its reveal, but it's not going to be for a few more chapters yet. Just hang in there, guys! Also, this chapter is kinda short, sorry. I think the next one will be longer(don't quote me on that, sometimes they're not as long/short as I may expect). Either way, next chapter is the next chapter. Lets get through this one, shall we? Hope you enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: Same old. Same old.  
**

* * *

The group met for breakfast the next morning and tried to figure out what to do for the day. Van Pelt had suggested the water park, she loved water parks. Sarah suggested they go see one of the sing-along shows. Jane opted for more exploration of the amusement park and was seconded by Lisbon. Cho simply didn't have a suggestion, but also opted for amusement park exploration. If an all day all-you-can-eat buffet were an attraction, Rigsby would be in heaven. But, it wasn't, so he just agreed with Sarah. It wasn't the warmest day, so they all agreed to wait for a warmer day to go to the water park. While they were wandering through the park, they found an Alice in Wonderland maze and Melody insisted that they go through it.

The maze looked like a giant tree from the outside with a tall, colourful fence around it. Jane opened the door and let Melody and Lisbon through first. The lighting inside the tree was dim and so the adults ducked through the opening on the other side of the little room, into the actual maze. Melody was short enough that she didn't have to duck under it, just simply walked through.

"Down the rabbit hole we went." Jane joked, smiling at Lisbon.

Lisbon smiled back and then looked down at Melody. "What path do we take, Melody? Lead the way."

Melody looked at the blades of fake grass that stretched far over their heads and the small pathways that were splayed out in front of her. "Um…" She pointed at the one straight in front of them after a moment of thought. "That one."

"You guys coming?" Jane asked the rest of the group that was ducking through the opening.

"Isn't the one right in front of you a bad choice?" Cho deadpanned. "Seems too obvious to be the right one."

"Cho." Van Pelt elbowed his arm. "Be supportive."

"Yay. The front path." Cho didn't change his tone.

Van Pelt just sighed and rolled her eyes, disappointed in him.

"Well. Then Cho can go his way and we'll go our way and we'll see who makes it out first." Jane challenged.

"You're on." Rigsby took the challenge.

"Okay." Cho shrugged.

All the women sighed. This might be a long day. They split up into different groups and set off on their chosen paths.

Melody skipped along between Jane and Lisbon, holding each of their hands.

"Maybe we can get a good view from up there." Jane suggested, pointing at a giant red mushroom with white polka-dots that loomed over them.

"First we have to find it in the maze." Lisbon informed him.

"Well, we have a super smart maze guide. We'll find it in no time, won't we, Melody?"

"Yeah!" Melody nodded and hurried forward, dragging the adults behind her.

It didn't take long for them to get to the base of the giant mushroom. It seemed that every pathway joined into the little clearing where it was located. The trio made their way up the metal, spiral staircase and through the short hallway onto the look-out balcony where they tried to find their best path to the exit.

"I see Grace!" Melody laughed and pointed.

Lisbon turned in the direction that Melody pointed and saw the top of red hair in a ponytail, grouped with a brunette. The brunette had to be Sarah. Cho, Rigsby and Ben were probably somewhere lost in the maze as well.

Jane was pleased to note that they still hadn't made it to the mushroom, which meant they were in the lead. "Darn." He said. "Should have said that losers buy lunch."

"Hush." Lisbon told him. "That's not nice. It's just friendly competition. Come on. What path are we going to take?"

"Over there." Melody pointed to the path on the far left. "It goes right to the exit sign."

"We better hurry." Jane told her. "I think I see the others catching up to us." They hurried out of the mushroom and onto the path that Melody had chosen, both adults slowing their pace so that they didn't outrun Melody.

"I see the end!" Melody announced to them, then let out a squeak as she slipped on some gravel and fell.

Lisbon and Jane both whirled around to make sure she was all right.

Melody quickly stood up and looked down at her knees. Her right one just had some dirt on it, but the left one was scraped and was starting to bleed a bit. "Ow." She said simply, sounding more frustrated than hurt.

"Are you okay?" Lisbon gasped.

Melody brushed off her right knee then shook her left leg. "I'm okay. I just need a band-aid."

"Let me see." Lisbon leaned down to see the extent of Melody's injury.

"We have to go." Melody told her firmly. "We're almost at the end."

"Melody-"

"No." Melody pushed Lisbon's hand away. "We're almost there. Come on!" She stepped around her aunt and hurried for the exit.

Jane and Lisbon followed behind.

-Mentalist-

Once they had gotten out of the maze, they found a nearby bench and sat on it to wait for the others. Lisbon searched the shoulder bag for the band-aids, tissue and water bottle she had packed. Jane had no words for the fact that she had _actually_ packed band-aids. It was just a little scrape. Melody wasn't even upset, though she gave Lisbon a big smile when she received a band-aid and a kiss to make it all better.

"How lost were you guys?" Jane laughed as he saw the group appear from the exit to the maze.

"It's a maze. Being lost is the point." Cho told him.

"We still won." Jane shrugged, smiling. "Bet you're all glad there was nothing at stake, huh?"

The others just grumbled and they all continued on their way.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon sighed as she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, turning the volume down low so it wouldn't wake Melody up.

Patrick walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later after taking his turn to get ready for bed and joined her on the couch. "What are you still doing out here?" He inquired. "I would have thought that you'd want to be in bed as soon as possible."

Lisbon shrugged, not taking her eyes off the TV. "I just don't feel like going to bed right now."

"Hm." Jane murmured thoughtfully as he observed her. "Something on your mind?"

"No." She replied casually, still not looking at him.

"Teresa."

"What?"

"Look at me."

Lisbon sighed and turned her head to look at him. "What?"

"You've been weird since we got back to the resort and had dinner."

"Have not." Lisbon defended.

"You have so."

"Maybe I have things on my mind."

"Things. _Like_?" Jane prodded.

Lisbon looked away, playing with the hem of her shirt. "Like us." She mumbled it so quietly, he barely even heard her.

"What do you mean?"

"What are we? Are we dating? Am I your girlfriend?"

Jane reached over and hugged her close, kissing her hair. "We're whatever you want us to be. All I know is that I love you and you love me. How we title our relationship doesn't bother me at all. I don't even think about it. I only think about you."

Lisbon blushed at that. "Good to know. I love you, too."

"That's very nice to hear." Jane smiled into her hair and reached for the remote with one hand. The weather channel wasn't exactly what he wanted to be looking at. He changed to a radio station, but decided he didn't like that type of music so flicked through the radio station choices. He was flicking through so quickly that he almost missed one. He clicked back and his smile grew as he saw he had been right. "Hey. Get up." He whispered to Lisbon.

She took a deep breath and looked at him quizzically. She hadn't been watching the channel changing. She just closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of him running his hand through her hair as she leaned against his chest.

"Come on." He got up and helped her up as well, taking one of her hands in his and leading her around the coffee table into the middle of the living room. He turned the TV up a few notches so they could actually hear the music and then he slipped the remote onto the coffee table.

Lisbon looked at the TV and smiled as Jane spun her, then pulled her close and they swayed to the song.

"You know." Jane whispered in her ear after a few moments. "This is one of my favourite songs of all time."

"Is it?" Lisbon murmured back, not opening her eyes, but she smiled. "I got you hooked on it, did I?"

"You could say that." Jane smiled. "Every time I hear it, I think of you."

Lisbon buried her face further into his shoulder, trying to hide her blush. She knew that if he saw it, it would only provoke him to make her blush more.

Jane kissed her shoulder, not calling her out on the fact he knew that she was blushing. "We'll go to bed after this song." He told her. "You seem tired."

"Okay."

They continued dancing for the rest of the song, enjoying the closeness of the other and both still lost in their own thoughts in addition to simply taking in the lyrics of the song as they swayed gently.

"_All you have to do_

_Is close your eyes and just_

_Reach out your hands._

_And touch me, hold me close_

_Don't ever let me go._

_More than words is all_

_I ever needed you to show_

_Then you wouldn't have _

_to say that you love me,_

'_cause I'd already know."_

* * *

**Author's Note: So that's chapter twenty! *confetti everywhere* Haha. I had to add that little Jisbon stuff in the end(maybe a little on the cheesy side? Yeah. My bad). I'm so disappointed that they never said what Lisbon said in her sleep in the last episode, "Black Cherry". I _really_ wanted to know what she said. In order to make up for not hearing that, I added Jisbon fluffy, romantic stuff to the end of this chapter. Yay fanfiction! And yes, the song at the end was "_More Than Words_" by Extreme. I promise, that you are all going to love how Jane gives Lisbon her present and what the present is. If that's any consolation to the fact you have to wait a few more chapters. If it's not...sorry. I tried. Anyway. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review!**


	21. The Big Kids

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I finally got this done! Woot! I'm very happy. Sorry about the delay, assignments and then getting sick did not help me get this done sooner. But the good news is that it's done. Chapter 21! Eep! So, here it is. I hope you all enjoy it and that it was at least sort of worth the wait. :)  
**

**Disclaimer: *Sigh*  
**

* * *

The next morning they received an envelope with a letter inside. The letter told them that they were being given a 'couples day' and that Melody was able to hang out in the 'kids zone' to be watched while Jane and Lisbon had free roam of the park alone together. Lisbon was a little bit hesitant at first because the whole point of being at Disneyland was for them to all spend time together, but Jane convinced her it was a good idea.

"We'll see you in a few hours." Lisbon crouched down and gave Melody a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Okay." Melody smiled and returned the gesture.

Jane gave her a hug as well.

"Have fun on all the big kid rides." Melody told them.

"We were having fun on the rides we went on before." Jane told her.

Melody's face fell into an expression that clearly told him that she knew he was lying to her. In typical teenage fashion-something she had probably picked up from Annabeth- she said, "No you weren't. Lets face it, Patrick. The big kids rides are more funer than the stupid baby rides I can go on."

"No." Jane defended. "I had lots of fun. I got to go on the rides with _you_." He poked her nose with the emphasis of 'you'.

That made Melody smile a little.

"Of course." Lisbon seconded Jane's statement. "You have lots of fun today, though. I want to hear all about it, okay?" She kissed Melody's head.

"I'll try." Melody nodded.

"I love you." Lisbon said, standing back up.

"I love you, too." Melody smiled and followed the park kid-sitter into the _Kid Zone_ building.

Lisbon sighed heavily when Melody was out of sight.

"Don't be so worried." Jane told her.

She glared at him and harshly whispered, "The last time I left her with a babysitter, she was taken hostage by a psycho with a gun."

"You really shouldn't blame yourself so much for that. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have foreseen that outcome." Jane shrugged.

"It's _my job_ to foresee that outcome."

"Well you're not at work right now. So stop thinking so much about _your job_ and start focusing on having fun. Goodness, woman. It's a good thing I love you." Jane nudged her elbow and smiled.

She rolled her eyes, but followed him into the adult section of the park. Or, as Melody referred to it, the 'big kid' section.

"What should we go on first?" Jane asked.

"I don't know." Lisbon replied. "Lets just see what catches our eye as we go."

"Fair enough." Jane took her hand in his and they started down the crowded path towards some rides. "That one!" Jane announced suddenly and grabbed Lisbon's arm, pulling her in the direction of the ride that had caught his eye without giving her the time to protest.

"Ah!" Lisbon gasped in surprise as all of a sudden she was being hauled off. "Jeez, Jane! What ride is this anyway?" She looked up at the sign that named the ride they were now in line for. "Oh, _come on_." She groaned. "These rides are so lame. Look. There's a roller coaster. I vote we go on the roller coaster." Lisbon turned to walk away, but Jane grabbed her arm, making her stay in place.

"We can go on the roller coaster after. I saw this first." He smiled. "I'm being romantic."

"Is that what they're calling it when someone is annoying?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"Why are you objecting so much to this ride?"

"Because it's tacky and lame."

"You haven't even been on it."

"It's called '_Lover's Cave_'. That ensures that it will be tacky and lame."

"The only reason that the decorations and music is tacky is because no one on the ride actually pays attention to them."

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"We'll think of something."

"I am _not_ making out with you for-how long is this ride? Like, five minutes? Not happening."

"Fine." Jane shrugged. "We'll just cuddle."

"I can't believe you." Lisbon grumbled.

Jane just chuckled and they waited in line. Jane helped Lisbon into the little white swan boat first and then got in himself. Lisbon still wasn't happy about the whole thing, crossing her arms in defiance when she was seated. That only seemed to amuse Jane more. It didn't take long for them to get strapped in and the ride started. It was dark inside the fake cave, with faint lights lighting the side of the man-made river. Some pink and red hearts were hung from the walls.

"_God_, this is _so lame_." Lisbon muttered.

Jane laughed. "Cheer up, Teresa."

"I'll cheer up when we get on that roller coaster."

"Why can't we just enjoy each others company?"

"Because roller coasters are more fun?"

"Don't be such a spoil sport. Everyone else was excited to get on this ride."

"Yeah, well, 'everyone else' were basically teenagers." Lisbon retorted.

"So?"

"Oh, my god." Lisbon rolled her eyes. "I'm not explaining this again."

"I don't want you to make out with me. I just want a hug." Jane pouted.

"Riiiggghhhhtttt." Lisbon replied sarcastically. The boat hit a small bump, causing it to sway. Lisbon let out a yelp and leaned as far from the edge of the boat as she could, causing her to lean heavily on Jane.

"Scared, Teresa?" Jane chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"No." Lisbon blushed a little bit embarrassed and tried to sit up, but Jane didn't let go.

"Really? That sure sounded like a scared squeal to me."

"I _do not_ squeal." Lisbon said indignantly.

"I think it's cute."

"Shut up." Lisbon blushed and tried to sit up properly again. "Will you let go?"

"Hhhmmmm…no." Jane kissed her head.

Lisbon sighed and just leaned against him.

"Does this mean I can have a kiss now?" Jane asked after a little while of silence.

"Are you serious!?"

"Yes."

She tilted her head back to look at him. Even in the dim light, she saw the amusement on his face. "I just hope you know that I _truly_ hate you."

"Aw, that's sweet. I love you too, Teresa." Jane smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. They remained that way until they were interrupted by sunlight shining in the cave.

They pulled away and looked ahead to see the end of the cave approaching.

"Well, that was fun." Jane said as they got off the ride and headed over to the roller coaster Lisbon had said she wanted to go on.

"Fun." Lisbon grunted.

"Don't be sour just because I was right." Jane placed a hand on Lisbon's waist and held her to his side.

"Pft. Please." Lisbon rolled her eyes.

When they got to the roller coaster, Jane put the bag in one of the cubicles and then sat down to strap himself in next to Lisbon. She had already done up her buckles while he was putting the bag away and amusingly watched him fumble with his buckles.

"I'm glad to see that you're finally smiling today." Jane huffed as he finally managed to figure out the strap that had somehow become twisted.

"Don't be sour just because you can't do up your seat belt." Lisbon mimicked and stuck out her tongue.

"Funny."

The roller coaster attendants checked all the seat belts, gave the thumbs up and the coaster started.

"I think all my blood is stuck in my head." Jane blinked and shook his head slightly.

"You can't handle a little loop-de-loop?" Lisbon teased.

"You're one to talk. Spinning rides at the carnival and you're so dizzy you could pass out, but a loop-de-loop on a roller coaster is nothing to you?"

Lisbon laughed. "Should I get you a barf bag?"

"No need." Jane took a steadying breath. "I'm all right. Where to next?"

"Maybe we can go on another slow ride. Just for you." Lisbon smirked.

"Don't treat me like a child." Jane huffed. "I'm fine. Another roller coaster, then?"

"You sure you can handle another roller coaster?"

"Was that a challenge?" Jane raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it was."

"Very well. I will accept your challenge. And if I succeed, I get that make-out session you refused me on the first ride."

"Patrick!" Lisbon smacked his arm, blushing. "Not happening."

Jane laughed. "Okay, okay. Relax. I was kidding. I'll settle for just a regular kiss."

"No." Lisbon said, just to be difficult.

"Well, then no more roller coasters."

"What!?"

"You heard me."

"Jeez. Fine. But the next roller coaster has to have at least one loop-de-loop as well."

"Okay. On to the next roller coaster." Jane put his arm around her waist and they headed off in search of another roller coaster.

-Mentalist-

It was almost dinner time when Jane and Lisbon approached the _Kid Zone_ building to pick Melody up. Overall, they'd had a fun day. Jane had won Lisbon a little princess teddy bear at a game Lisbon had told him not to bother with. But, he had to show off, so he bothered with it anyway.

"We're here to pick up Melody." Lisbon told the park employee sitting behind the front counter.

"One moment." The young man got up and headed back into the building, returning a few minutes later with Melody.

"Teresa! Patrick!" Melody ran over to them, smiling.

"Hi." Lisbon picked Melody up and gave her a big hug. "Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah." Melody nodded.

Lisbon and Jane stepped to the side as another couple entered to pick up their child.

"What did you do?" Jane asked as Lisbon put Melody back down.

"Iplayedinthejunglegym. Andwegottogoonsomerides. And-"

"Whoa. Slow down there. I can't even understand you." Jane smiled.

The employee returned with a young boy about Melody's age with light brown hair.

"Bye, Melody." The boy waved and smiled at her a bit sheepishly.

Melody turned to look at him. "Bye, Drake." She waved back.

Drake seemed to have a moment of indecisiveness, he hurried over to Melody and placed a quick kiss on her cheek blushing all the while before joining his parents.

Lisbon covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her smile, while Jane held back a chuckle. Drake's parents smiled and shared a look.

"Maybe I'll see you later." Drake said to her.

"Uh-huh." Melody gave a small nod, shuffling her feet a bit, embarrassed and blushing deeply.

"Have a nice night." Drake's mother said to them.

"You, too." Jane smiled and nodded.

With that, Drake and his parents left.

Melody hugged Lisbon's legs and burrowed her face into the side of her aunt's thigh.

"You okay?" Lisbon said gently, smiling and running her fingers through Melody's hair.

Melody peeked up at her and then went back to burrowing her face.

"Aw. It's okay." Lisbon picked Melody up and placed the little girl on her hip. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

"But. He kissed my cheek."

"Yes. We saw that." Jane teased, making Melody blush harder and she sent him a small glare.

Lisbon swatted Jane's arm. "Hush, you, if you're not going to be helpful."

Jane raised his hands in surrender, smiling.

"Why'd he do that?" Melody asked.

"Drake?" Lisbon asked.

Melody nodded.

"Maybe he likes you." Lisbon told her.

"Why?"

"Because you're a beautiful girl." Lisbon responded.

"Oh." Melody looked at Lisbon's shoulder as if it were actually interesting. "I-I'm hungry."

Lisbon smiled. "I bet. We're going to meet up with the others and grab some supper. Does that sound good?"

Melody just nodded and burrowed her face into Lisbon's shoulder as they headed off for the dinner buffet.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's the end of this chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.  
**


	22. Playing with Water

**Author's Note: Yay! I reached over 100 reviews! Thank you guys! Maybe it's not the most reviews anyone's ever gotten, but I'm proud anyway. You guys keep reviewing and I keep writing :). This is chapter 22. I don't want you guys to suffocate from holding your breath until the end of the chapter, so I'm going to tell you now that the present isn't revealed in this chapter. But it will be very, very soon. I pinky promise. I hope you still all enjoy this chapter, though. I worked hard on it. Also, it's longer than the last chapter by about two pages, for those of you that wanted a longer chapter.  
**

**Disclaimer: I give up. I'm never going to own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

"What do you think we're all going to do today?" Lisbon asked Jane as she sat on the couch, brushing her hair after changing for the new day.

"I don't know." Jane shrugged, leaving the bathroom after making sure his hair looked fine, and sat next to her on the couch. "Maybe we'll bump into Drake again." He smiled.

"Shush." Lisbon smacked his chest. "Don't tease her about that. Even if it was really cute. You'll make her more embarrassed."

"But it _was_ cute. Don't worry. It's not like I told everybody."

"No." Lisbon said flatly. "You only told Van Pelt, who thought it was _so_ cute that she accidentally announced it to everyone else. There's a reason that Melody is mad at the two of you. Just so you know. And that's it."

"Well that's not _my_ fault."

"What? It _was all your_ fault."

"I don't like being blamed for everything, Teresa." Jane said lightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It hurts my feelings."

"Mhm." Lisbon murmured sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "Speaking of Melody. I think it's time I woke her up." Lisbon got up.

"I'm sure she won't mind a few extra minutes of sleep." Jane patted her now vacated couch cushion.

"A few more minutes of sleep? Probably not. Missing breakfast? Yeah, she will." With that, Lisbon left to go wake Melody up.

Jane sighed and got up off the couch and headed toward the door to put his shoes on while Lisbon got Melody ready. It didn't take long before Melody exited her room with Lisbon following close behind and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. The young girl didn't so much as look at Jane as she put her sandals on. "Hey, Melody?"

"Mhm." Melody mumbled still not looking at him.

"Are you okay?"

Melody looked up at him, irritation and a small frown on her face. "Yeah. Fine. Thank you."

"Are you angry at me?"

"Yes." Melody answered bluntly. Clearly there was beating around the bush with her.

"Is it because of what happened at dinner yesterday?"

"Yeah."

_Told you!_ Lisbon mouthed at him and then stuck out her tongue.

Jane pointed at Lisbon and said teasingly, "_You_ can be quiet."

Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"Anyway." Jane addressed Melody again. "I'm very sorry, Melody."

Melody wrinkled her nose. "No you're not. You're just sorry I'm mad at you."

Her dismissal of his apology actually wounded him a bit and he flinched. He crouched down to be at eye level with her. "No. I _am_ sorry."

Melody crossed her arms and her frown deepened. "No you're _not_."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you were mean! And you told everybody! And you laughed! I told you no! I told you don't say it, but you said it! And everyone knows! I didn't want everyone to know! But they know! Because of you! And because of Grace! But you told her first! You didn't listen!" Melody's eyes started to fill with tears and her bottom lip quivered slightly, but she was refusing to cry as long as she had a choice.

"I didn't know it would bug you so much."

"It did!" Melody yelled. " No one listens to me! Because I'm little! Nobody listens! Not even you!"

Jane gave her a tight hug. "I'm so sorry." He whispered sincerely. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I never wanted to hurt your feelings."

Melody didn't want to hug him back, stubbornly keeping her little arms folded over her chest.

He pulled away and looked at her. "Can you forgive me?"

Melody pursed her lips and then looked up at her aunt who nodded. She looked back at Jane, lips still pressed tightly together. She didn't really want to. It had hurt her feelings. But if she _had_ to… "Okay." Melody grumbled.

"Really?" Jane smiled.

Melody nodded.

"Thank you!" Jane took Melody by surprise when he kissed her cheek, scooped her up and spun her around before hugging her tightly to him.

"Um. You're welcome."

"How about some breakfast now?" Lisbon asked, also kissing Melody's cheek.

"Yeah. Breakfast." Melody smiled.

-Mentalist-

Jane had carried Melody all the way down to the buffet where they met the others and ate breakfast.

"We should go see the ice skating show." Sarah suggested. "The first one is at two."

It was a little bit warmer outside, so they were all in agreement.

"We should go to the water park as well since it's warm out." Van Pelt added.

"Right after the show." Jane agreed.

-Mentalist-

"And all the princesses are going to be here?" Melody asked as the group made their way into the theatre for the show.

"Yeah." Lisbon nodded, holding Melody's hand.

"And Tinker Bell?"

"Mhm." Another nod.

Melody smiled. "Tinker Bell is funny." They claimed seats in the very front row so that Melody and Ben wouldn't have to look over a bunch of heads to see. "And Pocahontas, too?"

"I think she might be." Lisbon helped Melody settle into the seat to her right. Jane took the aisle seat to Lisbon's left.

"Pocahontas is my favourite."

"Yeah?" Lisbon smiled.

"Yeah. Her raccoon and hummingbird friends are really funny. I like Ariel and Mulan and Belle, too. But Mulan isn't a princess. But I like her anyway. I like her horse, too. Annabeth told me that she likes the horse because he's sassy." She seemed proud at her knowledge of the term 'sassy'.

"Her horse does have quite the personality." Lisbon remarked. "Can you see the ice okay?"

Melody looked out over the ice and nodded. "I can see it very good."

"_Well_." Lisbon corrected lightly. "You can see the ice very _well_."

Melody fidgeted in her seat as they all waited for the show to start. "How much longer?"

"A few more minutes." Lisbon tried to assure her, though she actually didn't know.

Finally, the lights dimmed and an announcer was heard over the rinks speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Welcome to Disney on Ice." Some spotlights began to roam around the stage as the voice continued and asked them all not to use flash photography and keep their cell phones off. One of the doors opened and the skaters stepped onto the ice, one by one, being introduced.

Melody smiled and wiggled in her seat. Her smile had fallen slightly when all the skaters were on the ice. She patted Lisbon's arm. "Pocahontas isn't here."

"Maybe she's on vacation." Lisbon said.

"Princesses get vacations?"

"I guess they do. I don't know where else she would be."

Melody seemed to consider that and went back to watching the show.

It actually surprised Jane a bit to see that Melody knew the lyrics to most of the songs that were played. They may have been from the movies, so she probably heard them a lot, but still. The only thing that surprised him more than that was the fact the Lisbon knew every lyric to the majority of the songs that were played. More than Melody, even. He glanced her way, smiling. She had a decent voice. Maybe he was being biased, but he still thought it was lovely.

-Mentalist-

After the show they all went back to their rooms to change for the water park and headed out.

"The water's so cold." Melody shivered and stepped out of the shallow water of the wading pool.

"You'll get used to it." Lisbon encouraged as she stepped in herself, holding back her shiver. Where did they draw water from? The Arctic ocean? Jeez. The little mermaid might have been alright with it, but the very human Teresa Lisbon thought it was outrageously cold.

"It's refreshing." Jane smiled as he stepped into the water as well. Truthfully, though, he thought it was freezing cold too.

Cho and Van Pelt had opted for the water slides, but the ones they had passed wouldn't have allowed Melody or Ben on, so Rigsby, Sarah, Ben, Melody, Jane and Lisbon had spotted the wading pool and thought that would be better.

Melody stepped back into the water and shivered again.

"Come on." Lisbon smiled and held out her hand.

Melody took the offered hand, kicking the water occasionally and jumping so she could watch the water splash.

Lisbon leaned down and used her hands to give Melody a small splash of the cold water.

Melody squealed and smiled, splashing her aunt back. She looked over at Patrick and sent a splash his way to invite him into their little splash fest.

Jane smiled and splashed her back, making her squeal again.

"Don't plash her so hard." Lisbon ordered half-heartedly, sending him a good splash with the flick of her foot.

"Oh, you're both teaming up on me now?" Jane raised a brow.

"Maybe." Lisbon stuck out her tongue as Melody laughed.

"That's not very nice." Jane said, then launched himself at them.

Lisbon managed to jump back out of his reach, but Melody hadn't been able to move fast enough.

Jane scooped Melody up as she tried to squirm away. "I have you now! Mwahaha!" Jane hugged Melody close.

"No!" Melody yelled, but was laughing as she still tried to wiggle out of his grip. "Help me, Teresa!"

"Melody!" Lisbon launched herself back at Jane, trying to wrap her arms around her niece and wrestle her away from Jane.

"Now I've got you both." Jane announced triumphantly as he wrapped one arm around Lisbon, using the other to still hold Melody tightly.

Lisbon tried to get away, but Jane had a good grip on her-even if it faltered sometimes because the water made everything slippery. She managed to free Melody from his grip and placed her in the water so she could splash at Jane.

They continued their game for about an hour until they started to get tired and bored of the wading pool. They told Rigsby and Sarah that they were going to find something else to do and that they'd see them at dinner. However, after a few rides they were sick of the long line ups and were in the mood for something that didn't require one.

"Oh! That!" Melody pointed at a little water play ground, one with the giant bucket at the top that would fill up with water and then spill it everywhere just to fill back up again to repeat.

"Okay, go on." Lisbon put Melody down and the girl took off for the little play area that a few other kids were playing on. Lisbon and Jane followed behind. Lisbon slipped and Jane steadied her with an arm around her waist.

"Don't hurt yourself, Teresa." He teased. "You're a bit of a klutz sometimes."

"Shut up!" Lisbon smacked his arm and he laughed, kissing her head.

"It's cute when you get all clumsy. Falling all over yourself, needing help-"

"_Be quiet_!" Lisbon interrupted, turning a bit red. "I'm not _that_ bad!"

Jane just laughed again and looked over at Melody who had climbed a ladder to get up on one of the lower platforms.

"Hi, Teresa! Hi, Patrick!" Melody called to them, waving from behind the bared railing.

Both adults smiled and waved back, making their way over to the platform she was on.

Melody hurried over to one of the wavy slides. This one was a vibrant red.

Jane and Lisbon stood at the bottom of it, waiting for Melody to slide down. "Come on, Melody!" Lisbon cheered as Melody sat down at the top. Jane made loud, encouraging noises.

Melody pushed off and threw her hands in the air, giggling as she slid down. When she reached the bottom, Lisbon picked her up and they all hugged. "The bucket's about to tip!" Melody told them when she looked up at it.

The trio ran to stand underneath it, bracing for the cold water that was about to douse them. When it poured over them it was as cold as the water from the wading pool and they all shivered but laughed.

Jane and Lisbon spent the next hour or so chasing Melody around the little water playground until their stomachs growled in protest of their break between meals.

"Come on, Melody." Lisbon said as she crawled into the dark blue plastic tube that Melody had disappeared into. "Time to go for supper."

Melody giggled and tried to crawl away in order to prolong her fun at the water playground. "You have to catch me, Teresa."

Lisbon reached out just in time to grab Melody's ankle and pull her back toward her. Melody tried but the plastic was to slippery so she could not put up much resistance as Lisbon pulled her back. Lisbon stood back up and turned to face Jane, smiling victoriously with Melody in her arms.

"Dinner time." Jane said.

"Dinner time." Lisbon nodded and they made their way back to their room to change, Jane's arm around Lisbon's shoulders.

-Mentalist-

"You have everything you need?" Lisbon asked as she and Jane tucked Melody in. "You're not thirsty? You don't need a snack?"

"No." Melody shook her head.

"If you do need anything, let us know." Jane told her, sitting behind Lisbon on the edge of the mattress.

"I know." Melody nodded.

"Okay, then. Goodnight." Lisbon kissed Melody's forehead.

"Goodnight, Teresa."

Jane also kissed Melody's forehead. "Sweet dreams."

"You too." Melody smiled. "Goodnight, Patrick."

Jane turned off the light and Lisbon closed the door behind them as they left and Melody shut her eyes to go to sleep. Jane draped his arm over Lisbon's shoulders as they made their way over and sat on the couch, as was their routine after saying goodnight to Melody. They cuddled in silence for a moment and then Jane spoke.

"What're you thinking about?" Jane sighed.

"Nothing." Lisbon said a bit too defensively.

"_Teresa_."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. It's nothing interesting. I'm not contemplating the answers to the universe over here."

"It matters to _me_."

Lisbon looked up at him for a moment before returning her head to his shoulder. "It's nothing."

"I'd still like to know."

There was a small silence before Lisbon spoke. "I just…I realised…I think I'm really going to miss her when her father picks her up in a week."

"You're not the only one." Jane kissed her hair.

Lisbon gave a small smile. "And I was worried that I would have nothing for her to do. I was worried that she'd be bored."

Jane chuckled. "There's never a dull moment with you."

Lisbon smiled. "I'm not sure if I really want that to be true or not."

"I'd love you either way." Jane held her a bit tighter.

Lisbon looked up at him again, smiling. "Love me enough to give me an occasional dull moment, too?"

Jane smiled at her tenderly. "Maybe. If you're really nice and you earn it."

"I have to _earn_ it?" Lisbon raised a brow, but was smiling. "I won't get them just because you love me?"

"What's the fun in me telling you?" Jane kissed her lips gently. "Come on. It's time for bed. We've had an eventful day and we have a ball to attend tomorrow evening. We don't want to be tired during that."

"Oh, of course not." Lisbon smiled as she got up and they went to bed.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's the end of this chapter! And I know you all are probably still really curious about this present so I will let you know that it will be revealed in the next-yes, NEXT-chapter. Maybe that will help you guys with your curiosity. I hope it does. As always, please read and leave a review lwtting me know what you thought! =3  
**


	23. Lost and Found

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here's chapter 23! I'm sure quite a few of you have been waiting very patiently, and thank you. Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed because it makes me happy when people review. The gift is revealed in this chapter, so I'm sure most of you are excited to see what it is. This chapter is also one of my longer chapters, and it took me while to get it all down. Sorry about that. So, without further adieu, CHAPTER 23. :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I take it back. I still want to try and own the Mentalist, even though I don't.  
**

* * *

After spending the day at the amusement park, the group returned back to their rooms early to get ready for the Disney Ball.

"Oh, crap." Lisbon muttered.

"What?" Jane asked. Melody was in her room, going through her suitcase.

"We didn't pack for this. We have nothing to wear." No sooner had she finished her sentence, there was a knock on their room door. Lisbon gave Jane a suspicious look and then went to answer the door, Jane following close behind curiously.

There was a woman and a man standing there, both carrying chunky black cases. Lisbon opened the door. "Hello?"

"Hi." The woman smiled. She had bouncy blond curls and was dressed in a nice blouse and black dress pants. Her name tag said _Tiffany_.

"Can…Can I help you?" Lisbon was still confused.

"I'm Seth and this is Tiffany." The man said. He had dark jelled hair and also wore a nice shirt and dress pants. "We're from the park. Did no one tell you we were coming?"

"No. We never got the heads up." Jane shook his head.

"Well, I'm from the Bippity-Boppity Boutique." Tiffany told them cheerily.

"The Bippity-what now?"

"Boutique." Jane said helpfully and Lisbon shot him a look. "Come in." Jane stepped to the side to let them in, pulling Lisbon out of the way as well. Their guests entered and placed their cases down, they each also had a matching roll-along case.

"Melody," Jane called. "Come out here a moment, please?"

Melody appeared from her room door in moments. "Yes?" Then she noticed the two strangers. "Who are you?" She asked them.

"I'm Tiffany." She held out her hand and Melody walked over to her, shaking the offered hand. "This is Seth." She gestured to her colleague. "We're here to help you all get ready for the Ball."

Lisbon just stared at Tiffany in surprise.

Jane laughed and kissed Lisbon's cheek. "You were saying?" He whispered to her.

"Shut up." Lisbon smacked his arm.

-Mentalist-

"Ta-da!" Melody said happily as she stepped out of her room where Jane and Lisbon could see her. She wore a sleeveless dress with a pink top, with a puffy, sparkly and rainbow coloured tool skirt that almost reached the ground on her. The top layers of her hair were braided back and her tiara was situated on her head.

"You look so pretty!" Lisbon gasped, smiling and opening her arms to give Melody a hug. Lisbon's gown was light blue with a poofy skirt and thick sleeves. Her hair was straightened and her makeup was done with a smoky eye, making her irises stand out and her lips were a glossy pink.

"Thank you! You look really pretty, too!" Melody smiled, giving her aunt a hug.

"Have a nice time you three." Tiffany said, still cheery as she fastened up her case.

"We will." Jane nodded. "You guys have a nice night, too."

"We will." Seth smiled and nodded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight!" Melody waved as their guests left.

"Hey. Melody?" Jane said.

"Yeah," Melody asked, looking at him.

"You wanna know who is really going to want to see your pretty dress?"

"Who?"

"Grace. She's going to absolutely love it." Jane said enthusiastically.

"Yeah!"

"You should go show her!" Jane smiled.

"Wait." Lisbon said nervously, giving Jane a suspicious look.

"She'll be fine." Jane told Lisbon as he headed to the door as well, making sure that Melody made it down the hall to Van Pelt's room. When he saw she made it in safe, he shut the door.

"What is this about?" Lisbon demanded.

"I have a surprise for you." Jane smiled, grabbing her hand and pulling her into their bedroom. "Sit." Jane ordered, gesturing to the stool in front of the vanity mirror to their right.

Lisbon gave him a strange look and sat down on the stool.

Jane made her turn so that she was facing the mirror. "Okay. I'm going to go get your surprise and when I come back you have to close your eyes until I say you can open them. Okay?"

"Fine." Lisbon grumbled. She saw no point in arguing now.

Jane hurried out of the room and soon entered again, hands behind his back. "Okay. Now close your eyes." He instructed.

With an irritated sigh, Lisbon did as she was told. She felt his presence behind her when he had come to stand there. She continued to wait for something to happen. Finally she felt something get placed on her head. "Jane. If you got me some awful flashing headband, I swear to g-"

"Open your eyes."

She did. Her sentence died on her tongue. It didn't even feel like the woman staring back at her in the mirror was actually herself. The glittering tiara on her head seemed to change everything. It wasn't made of plastic, with its weight, it had to be metal. She had a feeling that the diamonds were fake, but the heart shaped emerald in the middle and the few smaller ones along the bottom were definitely real. She sat there just looking at her reflection and trying to convince herself that it was really her. Lisbon tried to force words from her mouth that had been agape and useless since she had opened her eyes, but it remained useless.

Jane smiled brightly behind her, also reflected in the mirror, proud of himself. He knew she would love it. It had even rendered her speechless. "So, I assume that you like it." He hadn't really said it as a question.

Lisbon nodded slightly. "It's beautiful."

Jane put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "No. _You're_ beautiful."

Lisbon blushed deeply and Jane kissed her cheek.

"Thank you." Lisbon finally said. "For the tiara." Then, as she stood up, she added, "And the compliment."

Jane smiled at her. "You don't have to thank me. For either of those things."

"I feel I should."

"Well, you shouldn't." Jane leaned forward and caught her lips with his in a sweet kiss before pulling her closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened.

There was a loud knock at the front door.

"Teresa! Patrick! Hurry or we're going to be late!" It was Melody.

Jane sighed irritably as he pulled away, but was smiling despite his protest. "Shall we?" He asked, unwrapping his arms from around her.

"We shall." Lisbon nodded and they headed to the front door, making sure they had everything they needed before opening it and stepping out into the hall to join their friends.

"Teresa! You have a pretty crown, too!" Melody gasped.

"Yes." Lisbon smiled at her. "It's a present."

Melody held up her arms to Lisbon, indicating that she wanted to be picked up and Lisbon obliged. Melody touched the big emerald gently. "It's really sparkly."

"It is, isn't it?" Lisbon kissed her cheek. "I still really like yours, though."

On that note, the group headed to the Disney castle for the ball.

The castle was very nicely decorated with candles, both real and fake, as well as sparkling crystals draped over practically everything. There were lots of dining tables situated around a big dance floor in the ballroom. They entered through the door on a balcony overlooking the entire ballroom that had two curved stair cases cascading out from each side, telling their names to the men standing at either side of the doorway and then all their names were announced to the guests already there: _Princess Grace, Prince Kimball, Prince Ben, Prince Wayne, Princess Sarah, Princess Melody, Princess Teresa and Prince Patrick_. All of the places at the tables were marked and the group looked around for their names. Jane, Lisbon and Melody ended up sitting separately from the rest of the group because they all couldn't fit at the other table, but at least their tables were right next to each other.

"There you go." Jane said as he pushed Melody's chair in once she had sat down.

"Thank you." Melody smiled and took a sip of her ice water. There were some other names announced, but Jane and Lisbon missed some of them trying to hear Melody as she babbled about how excited she was about the Ball.

A young girl, about ten or eleven came around the table, looking at the names of the empty seats. "Mommy! Daddy! I found our table!" The girl called excitedly, pulling out her chair at the other end of the circular table and sitting on it. She had medium brown hair and grayish-blue eyes. Her dress was yellow. "Hello." She smiled at Melody, Jane and Lisbon. "I'm Diane."

"Hello there, Diane. I'm Patrick." He waved. "This is Teresa. And this is Melody."

"Nice to meet you." Diane nodded, smiling. "My mommy, daddy and baby brother are coming, too." Moments later a familiar looking couple approached their table.

"You found it, Diane. Good job." The woman smiled and kissed her daughter's head.

"So, we meet again." Jane piped from his seat.

The woman looked at him for a moment, slightly confused and trying to remember why he looked familiar. Catching sight of Lisbon and Melody, realisation crossed her face. "Hello, there." She smiled brightly. "I didn't expect to run into you all so soon."

"Neither did we, really." Lisbon smiled.

Melody's brows furrowed. She was still confused.

Diane's father pulled out the chair next to Melody and helped his son up onto it. Melody was sure her heart stopped for a moment and her face fell slightly as she recognized the boy that was sitting next to her. His light brown hair had been nicely brushed back out of his face.

The boy seemed to take a moment to realise who the girl sitting next to him was as well. But when he did, he gave a small awkward smile and wave. "Hi, Melody."

Melody swallowed the lump forming in her throat and gave him the best smile she could muster. "Hi, Drake." Her cheeks were reddening. She just failed to notice that his were as well. "Teresa." Melody turned to her aunt who was sitting to her left.

"Yes?" Lisbon asked, trying not to smile too much.

"I…I have to pee."

"Is it an emergency?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. Come on." Lisbon pushed out her chair and picked Melody up, then addressed the others. "You'll have to excuse us for a moment. Melody has to use the little princesses' room." With that, she left to find the washroom. They asked a waiter who told them it was down the hall on the right. "Tell the truth." Lisbon said as she carried Melody down the hall. "You don't actually have to pee, do you?"

"Yes, I do." Melody muttered, looking away from her aunt.

"No, you don't. You just wanted to get away from Drake."

"No!" Melody shot back, too quickly.

"Yes."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Melody,"

Melody just looked away and gave a small unhappy noise of protest.

Lisbon stopped and leaned against the wall. "Look at me, Melody."

It took a moment and a few glancing tries, but Melody finally looked at her.

"You can't run away from Drake."

"I'm not running. My feet aren't even on the ground."

"I mean you can't avoid the problem. What is the problem, exactly?"

Melody looked down and absently fiddled with a lock of Lisbon's hair before she answered. "He kissed my cheek, Teresa. I don't know why. I didn't tell him to. I didn't ask. And now my tummy feels all weird because he's here."

"That's not horrible, Melody. Isn't it a good weird?"

"Just weird."

"Like you have butterflies in your tummy?"

Melody looked her aunt in the eye, surprised. "Yeah. You know how it feels, Teresa? You know?"

"Most people would know how that feels." Lisbon kissed Melody's forehead.

"Who makes your tummy feel weird?" Melody asked.

"That doesn't matter." Lisbon shook her head.

"Yes, it does. Who? Is it Patrick? Did he tell you that he loves you ye-" Melody's eyes widened in shock as she realised that she wasn't supposed to have told her aunt that. She slapped both her hands over her mouth.

"He already told me." Lisbon said, using one hand to pry Melody's hands away from her face.

"So, it is Patrick?"

"Yes." Lisbon nodded. "And Patrick and I get along just fine. I'm not running off to the bathroom every time I see him coming."

Melody continued to play with Lisbon's lock of hair absently as she contemplated her reply. "But I don't want my tummy to feel weird. Why does it have to feel weird? How do you make it stop?"

"I don't know." Lisbon shrugged. "But, I _do_ know that hiding out in the bathroom is not going to fix anything. Maybe you like him back. You won't know unless you go out there and be yourself and have some fun. I'm sure Drake's very nice. Don't let a little flop in your tummy stop you from having a good time."

Melody looked at her and smiled. "Yeah. I-I can still have lots of fun. And Drake is nice. I don't know if I like him back, though."

"You don't have to know right now." Lisbon told her. "Just have fun and see what happens."

Melody nodded enthusiastically. "Okay."

"Alright!" Lisbon smiled brightly, holding up one hand. "High-five."

Melody giggled and fived her aunt.

"Now, let's at least make a stop at the bathroom before we head back out there." Lisbon put Melody down and the pair went into the bathroom.

They rejoined their table a few minutes later, Lisbon pushing Melody's chair back in once the small girl was settled again. It didn't take long for dinner to be served and they were all chatting. They started talking about their trip so far, recommending certain rides and swapping views on the shows.

"So, Melody. What's your favourite ride at Disneyland so far?" Mrs. Hudson, Drake's mother, asked.

"I like the Dumbo ride." Melody said after swallowing her mouthful of chicken fingers.

"We went on that ride too. Didn't we Drake?" Mr. Hudson said helpfully, smiling at his son that sat next to him.

"Yeah." Drake nodded and looked at Melody. "It was lots of fun. Our Dumbo had an orange hat."

"Mine had a green one." Melody told him.

After dinner, chocolate cake was served for dessert and no one complained, digging in happily. The princesses made their rounds, talking to all of the guests and thanking them for coming.

"Ariel?" Melody called out when she saw the red headed princess nearby.

"Yes?" Ariel stood next to Melody's chair, smiling.

"Where's Pocahontas?" Melody asked her. "We went to see the show and she wasn't there. And she wasn't here when we visited the castle before. Is she sick?"

"No." Ariel shook her head, still smiling. "You know, I think she's on vacation with John Smith. She went with him to see his family again in England. I'm sure she'll be disappointed that she didn't get to meet you."

"Teresa. You were right. She _is_ on vacation." Melody said to her aunt before addressing Ariel again. "When is she coming back?"

"I don't know. Not for a few more days I don't think."

"Oh." Melody was a bit disappointed.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Ariel patted Melody's shoulder.

"It's okay." Melody told her. "I hope she's having fun."

"I'm sure she is. Speaking of fun, you should go dancing when they open the dance floor. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun there." Ariel said enthusiastically.

"I do like dancing." Melody smiled. "I'm really good at it too. I get lots of practice with my Daddy. And Annabeth dances with me, too."

"I'm sure you're very good. You'll have to show me when the floor opens." Ariel nodded. "I have to go say hello to everyone else now, though. So, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." Melody waved as Ariel left.

A little while later, the dance floor was opened. All the princesses and princes performed a dance and received applauses as all the other guests began to step onto the dance floor.

"Shall we?" Mr. Hudson held his hand out to his wife.

Mrs. Hudson's face lit up playfully. "Why. I think we shall." She chuckled and took his offered hand. "Join the dance floor soon, Diane. I'm sure you'll find a wonderful dancing partner. You too, Drake." Mrs. Hudson smiled as she and her husband joined the other guests.

"Okay, mommy." Diane called after them and then scanned the mostly emptied tables for a partner.

"I think we should follow their lead, don't you, my fair lady?" Jane smiled.

"I think that sounds wonderful, kind sir." Lisbon grinned, taking his hand. She leaned down and kissed Melody's cheek and whispered, "Remember. Have fun, be yourself and everything will be fine. I love you."

Melody smiled. "I love you, too."

With that, Jane and Lisbon pushed in their chairs to walk hand-in-hand to the dance floor. However, Jane took them on a slight detour. Lisbon stumbled slightly as her path was suddenly changed, but followed Jane. He had her hand, what else was she to do? They approached a young boy about Diane's age, looking awkward, sitting at a table by himself.

Jane cleared his throat and the boy looked up at him, surprised. "If you are interested. There's a beautiful young lady at the table over there-" Jane gestured toward their table with his head "-of whom I'm sure is a wonderful dancer and would love to be asked to dance."

When Lisbon glanced back over, she saw that Diane's face had fallen slightly, with no one asking her to dance. She felt the girl deserved a hug; or for this boy to at least ask her to dance.

The boy just nodded and fidgeted in his seat.

Lisbon and Jane headed back toward the dance floor, and noticed out of the corner of their eyes that the boy Jane had talked to got up and made his way over to Diane at their table.

"So, you're a match maker now?" Lisbon teased.

Jane just shrugged and smiled, stepping onto the glossy dance floor with Lisbon following. He pulled her close and they swayed gently to the music like everyone else. "I just didn't want to see her going home upset. Besides, he wanted to ask her, he was just shy."

"Oh, and you just know _everything_." Lisbon shot back sarcastically, but was grinning.

"I know that you look lovely tonight." He said sincerely.

Lisbon blushed, but regained her composure to continue their banter. "Are you saying I looked terrible all of the nights before?"

"Not at all," Jane chuckled, knowing she wasn't actually offended. "But now you don't have to worry about your stolen tiara. I got it back for you. Bet that's a weight lifted from your shoulders."

"Oh, it really is. Thank you so much." Lisbon played along.

"You're very welcome. Anything for you," He leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on her lips as they continued to dance.

-Mentalist-

Diane had left to dance with the boy that had asked her, leaving Melody and Drake alone at their table. There was a moment of awkward silence between the pair of them, neither really knowing what to say.

"Do you…um…want to dance?" Melody asked, fidgeting and looking at her hands that were clasped together in her lap.

"S-sure." Drake said, smiling at her hopefully.

Melody smiled back as best she could and they both slid off their chairs to join everyone on the dance floor. The song was still slow and the four-year-olds looked at everyone else, trying to see what they had to do. Stand facing each other. Check. Stand a bit closer…They shuffled a bit closer to each other. Check. Hug each other. Awkwardly, they reached out and wrapped their arms around each other. Che-no this was too uncomfortable. They held hands instead. Close enough. Spin in slow circles. Slowly they walked in circles, swaying from side to side. Check? When that song ended, they hoped for a faster one, one that was more fun to dance to, but didn't get it.

Melody huffed. "This is boring. I thought this was s'posed to be fun."

"Me too," Drake was bored as well. "We could explore the castle. They probably have lots of magical stuff here."

"Yeah!" Melody nodded and the pair slipped away from the dance floor. Teresa _did_ tell her to have fun. They made their way to the big floor to ceiling windowed door that was opened slightly and led out to a big stone balcony. The pair slipped outside and went to the balcony railing to see what they could see. Through the gaps in the railing they could see the mote and the amusement park in the background, all lit up with colourful flashing lights.

"It's so pretty." Melody breathed.

"It looks different from day time." Drake commented.

"Maybe we can get a better view from there." Melody pointed at a stone bench that was pressed up against the railing nearby. Drake followed her lead as she climbed up onto it and placed her hands on top of the railing, leaning forward a bit to see better.

Drake took hold of her arm and pulled her back a bit.

"What?" Melody asked, a little irritated.

"Don't fall." Drake told her.

"I'm not going to fall." Melody rolled her eyes and then turned back to look out over the park again.

"So, you like Disneyland?" Drake broke the more comfortable silence between them.

"Yeah." Melody nodded, turning to look at him. "Don't you?"

"I do." Drake nodded and silence fell over them once again. After a few moments, Drake got off the bench to stand on the balcony.

Curiously, Melody followed, standing so that they were facing each other.

"Melody? Can I…can I tell you something?"

"Mhm." Melody nodded.

"Um…" Drake looked at her, cheeks a rosy colour. "Uh. You're crown looks really pretty."

"Thank you." Melody beamed and blushed at the same time. "I like your shirt. It's a pretty blue." She poked his chest lightly.

"I like you." Drake blurted out, catching Melody off guard.

"Huh?" Her eyes grew wide, mouth gaped and cheeks darkened.

"I like you." Drake forced his mouth to repeat the words. "A lot."

"Oh." Melody practically squeaked and shuffled her feet.

"Do…you like me, too?"

"I…I don't…I don't know."

"Oh." Drake was a bit saddened. "How will you know if you do?"

"I don't know. How do _you_ know?"

"I just know." Drake mumbled, bowing his head slightly.

"Well…the princesses figured it out." Melody tried to reason. "How did they know?"

Drake just shrugged.

Melody went through all the stories in her head and suddenly got really nervous. "Um. We…I…The princesses kissed their princes." Melody mumbled almost incoherently.

Drake looked at her, a bit confused. "What do you mean?"

Melody didn't say anything, just returned his gaze.

"Wh-Oh. _Oh_." Drake blushed more as well. "You think we should kiss?"

"You don't have to sound like it's so bad." Melody shot out, a bit offended.

"I'm not." Drake defended. "I didn't think you'd want to kiss me. Because kissing is for grown-ups."

Melody crossed her arms, frowning. "I'm a big girl. I can kiss whoever I want."

"I didn't mean to say you weren't."

"Do you want to kiss me or not?" Melody grouched.

Drake gave a small, cautious nod.

"O-okay, then." Melody's voice wavered nervously.

They both looked at each other for a good, long moment nervously before they both leaned forward. Their lips pressed together tentatively and they both practically jumped back a second later.

-Mentalist-

"Where'd Melody go?" Lisbon asked Jane after a few songs.

Jane glanced around. "I don't know."

"I swear she was right over there a minute ago." Lisbon pointed in the direction she meant.

"Maybe she got thirsty and went back to our table." Jane suggested.

Lisbon quickly headed for their table, Jane hurrying to keep up with her. "She's not here." Lisbon said worriedly. "Patrick, she's not here."

"I see that. It's okay, Teresa. It's fine. She's probably just on the dance floor and we can't see her through the crowd." Jane took Lisbon's hand. "Everything's fine. Don't worry."

Lisbon turned and looked at him, the worry clear on her face.

"Teresa, come on." Jane brushed the pad of his thumb over Lisbon's cheek lightly. "She's fine. You're worrying for nothing. I'm sure she's here. Somewhere."

"If I lose her-"

"You _haven't_ lost her. She's just wandered off. She does that, right? And she always comes back fine."

"Not always fine." Lisbon whispered.

Jane sighed. "We'll look for her. Just no tearing through this place. And when we do find her, she's going to be perfectly fine and you're going to feel silly for worrying so much over nothing."

"I sincerely hope that you're right."

Jane lifted up the table cloth and glanced under just to check, but didn't see Melody. He placed his hand around Lisbon's waist, keeping her close to make sure that she drive herself insane looking for Melody. They made their way around the dance floor and through the crowd at least three times and hadn't seen a sign of Melody anywhere. They checked by the buffet tables that had opened for those that were looking for a snack. Nothing. Jane was sure that Lisbon was on the verge of tears by now and possibly a breakdown. No one even remembered seeing her. She was in the most colourful, sparkly dress that world had probably ever seen with a glittering tiara on her head, and _no one_ remembered seeing her? Absurd.

"Come on." Jane pulled Lisbon into an empty corner of the ballroom and enveloping her in a hug. "Ssshhhh. It's okay. We'll find her. I promise. She's fine." Jane rubbed her back soothingly as she clung to him. "Don't be so upset. She hasn't even been gone that long. Worrying isn't going to help find her. Deep breaths. We'll find her, Teresa. I swear. It's a big room and she's a small girl, but she can still be found. And she will be found. We'll find her."

Lisbon let go of him and brushed a stray hair that had fallen into her eyes away. "Okay. You're right. We have to keep looking."

"There we go. There's the woman I fell in love with. Always able to get the job done. Come on." Jane placed a reassuring kiss on her lips before taking her hand and pulling her along. They walked along the wall for a little bit until they reached the back, near the door that led out to the balcony. "Found her." Jane grinned widely, spotting the girl through one of the big windows.

"You did?" Lisbon stood next to him and she let out a big sigh of relief. "Thank god."

"Well, I'm not god, but you're welcome." Jane chuckled, wrapping his arms around Lisbon's waist before she ran out and interrupted whatever conversation Melody was having with drake. Whatever it was, it certainly had the pair blushing like beets at Christmas dinner. The conversation seemed to be concluded when Drake held his hand out to Melody and she took it. The pair walked back through the ajar balcony door as Lisbon and Jane tucked themselves close to some of the drapery to be out of sight.

They caught Melody on the dance floor again, Lisbon wrapping the girl in a tight hug and sternly telling her not to run off like that again. Melody apologised. When Jane asked where they'd gone, both replied the balcony. When asked what they were doing, both their replies were muttered and incoherent for the most part. If only Jane could tease Melody without her getting so upset.

-Mentalist-

"Goodnight." Lisbon, Jane and Melody waved at the rest of their group as they all went to their rooms.

Jane closed the door behind them and kicked off his shoes. Lisbon was already heading to Melody's room to help her get ready for bed, so Jane went to the bathroom to get ready for bed as well. When they were all finally ready for bed, Jane and Lisbon tucked Melody in, said their goodnights and gave Melody her goodnight kiss before closing the door.

"Hard to believe that we have to go home tomorrow," Jane sighed, hugging Lisbon close.

"I know." She agreed, hugging him back and looking around the room. "Feels like we just got here. It's been an adventure."

"That it has." Jane kissed the top of her head. They made their way into their room and crawled under the covers, snuggling close after Lisbon made sure her alarm was set.

"Goodnight, Patrick." Lisbon gently kissed his lips.

"Goodnight, Teresa." Jane smiled.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yay! So, that's chapter 23! Please leave a review! I'm super excited to see what you all thought of this chapter(some of it might have been cheesy, sorry about that)! I am contemplatig a sequel to this story so I was wondering if you all would want a sequel. You can messege me or let me know in a review. Either is good. See you at the next chapter!  
**


	24. I'll Be Right Back

**Author's Note: Hello. Sorry that I took so long to update and that this chapter isn't very long. I have no excuse. I was just lazy. Too much food tends to do that to me. But, I finished this chapter finally, so I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for all your reviews, favourites and follows, guys! They keep me going. It also looks like there is probably going to be a sequel.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

Lisbon was both relieved and saddened as she placed the last of her luggage down in the entrance of her home. The past week had felt almost like a dream and now she was waking up to reality again. She sighed. It was fun while it lasted.

Jane closed the door behind them as Melody counted the bags to make sure that they were all there. "That's that." He said, smiling.

Lisbon turned and smiled back. "Now we just have to unpack everything again."

Jane groaned. "Can't we just enjoy being back for a little bit first? Unpacking is such a chore."

"Lazy." Lisbon teased.

There was a small thud and the adults turned to see Melody sitting on the floor, one of the big rolling suitcases lying next to her. "Ow." Melody said almost contemplatively, like she was trying to decide if she was actually hurt or not. She must have decided she wasn't because she simply stood back up.

"What did you do?" Lisbon asked, trying not to sound amused as she stood the suitcase back up.

"I was trying to take the suitcase upstairs and it fell on me."

"Oh, don't worry about the suitcases for now." Jane strolled over and picked Melody up. "We can unpack later. Why don't we just watch some TV for now? Just relax for a bit. We've had quite an eventful week."

"Okay." Melody agreed and the trio went to settle on the couch and see what they could find on television to entertain themselves.

-Mentalist-

Jane and Lisbon put Melody to bed after they unpacked that evening. She seemed quite tired anyway. When Melody was tucked in, the pair went back downstairs and Lisbon decided she wanted something to drink. She rummaged around in the fridge.

"Huh." She stood back, looking in the fridge. "We're out of milk."

Jane walked over and looked in the fridge as well. "We are." He agreed then shrugged. "Oh, well. We can get some more tomorrow."

"What about breakfast?" Lisbon asked. "Melody's cereal. My coffee."

"We'll substitute." Jane made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

"I'll run to the twenty-four hour store and grab some." Lisbon closed the fridge door and headed for the front hallway.

"Just leave it." Jane insisted, hurrying to beat her there.

"No, it's fine. It won't take that long."

"Doesn't matter." Jane reached out and snatched her key ring from its place on the small table. "Now you can't go. I have your keys. Ha. Besides, what if I need to leave suddenly? I can't take Melody in my car. No car seat. That's illegal. I'm sure you wouldn't want me to do anything illegal, would you?" Jane raised a brow, daring her to challenge his statement.

"Fine." Lisbon shrugged, reaching out and snatching up his own key ring. "You're right. I'll just take _your_ car."

"Teresa. That's stealing."

"You going to report me?" She teased.

"No. But that's not the point. At least just let me go or come with you."

"You have to stay with Melody." Lisbon told him. "And the last time I asked you to go pick up a few things, you came back with another person and we all ended up 'playing doctor' again."

"You love playing doctor." Jane grinned mischievously.

"Whatever makes you feel better." Lisbon snorted and turned to open the door.

"Hurry back at least."

Lisbon smiled over her shoulder at him. "Fine." With that, she shut the door and hurried out to Jane's car.

Jane watched from the window as she got in a drove off. Then he went to sit on the couch, but he was soon very bored and tried to think of something to do. TV was not going to cut it.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon waited impatiently for the person in front of her to pay for all of their groceries. Seriously. Were they throwing a party for the whole world? Who needed that many family-sized bags of chips? Did they leave any in stock for anyone else? Wait. Wasn't this the express line? 15 items or less! Lisbon gritted her teeth and suddenly she realised why this line had been so short. No one had wanted to wait for them to cash out all their stuff. However, being as stubborn as she was, Lisbon decided to see it through and she finally was able to pay and leave.

"Some people." Lisbon grumbled to herself as she made her way out to her-well, Jane's-car. She unlocked the passenger side door, placing the milk on the seat and closed it again, walking around to the drivers side door. She pulled her phone out of her pocket as she got inside and closed the door behind her.

Jane answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Well, I have the milk." Lisbon told him. "Guess what."

"What?"

"I'm still living. It's a miracle." She teased.

"Haha." Jane replied sarcastically. "You're funny."

"I know." Lisbon didn't have to see him to know he was rolling his eyes at her.

"Just hurry back. Drive safe."

"That's ironic coming from you, considering the way _you_ drive."

"You can tell me about how ironic it is when you get back."

"Bye." Lisbon rolled her eyes as she hung up and started the car. Why did he love this thing so much? She found it incredibly prehistoric. Plus, the radio on it sucked. She pulled out of the parking lot and started driving down the street. She took a less popular road to avoid the traffic and applauded herself for figuring out the little detour. The light at the intersection turned red and she stopped in the turning lane, putting her blinker on. The only other car she saw was going the opposite way, stopped on the other side of the intersection. The light turned green and she waited, giving the other car the right of way. As she began to turn, there was a loud screeching noise followed by the car violently jolting to one side in a mess of glass shards and metallic crunching noise. Lisbon didn't even have time to scream as her head hit something hard and everything went black.

* * *

**Author's Note: Aaaannnnnnddddddd it's cliffy. The past few chapters were fluffy-I couldn't have something horrible happen at Disneyland!-and so I felt a bit of suspence was required. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up much sooner. I'm trying to get my rear in gear and all that. Let me know what you thought of this chapter! See you at the next one!  
**


	25. Lucky

**Author's Note: So, here's the next chapter. I'm still trying to shake the laziness and I had some family stuff, so sorry about the wait. I hope you still enjoy this chapter, it's a bit longer so maybe that makes up for the wait. I hope. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I hope you all enjoy and I hope that you all are having a great winter break!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.  
**

* * *

"Hello." Jane picked up the phone immediately when it rang again, seeing Lisbon's name and face pop up on the screen.

"Is this Patrick Jane?" Asked a male voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes." Jane's stomach dropped in fear of what he was about to be told.

"I'm officer Franklin with Sacramento PD. I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."

"W-what happened?" Jane's throat was very dry suddenly.

"Miss. Lisbon has been involved in a car accident."

"Is she okay?" Jane took a shaky breath. She had to be okay. She just _had_ to.

"She was conscious for a moment before she was put in the ambulance and she told me to call you. I think she'll live. She's on her way to the hospital."

"Which hospital?"

Officer Franklin gave Jane the name and address of the hospital, which Jane made sure to store in his memory palace before thanking the man and hanging up. He hurried up the stairs and into the guest room where Melody was still sleeping, unaware of what had happened. As quietly as he could, Jane walked over to the bed and gently tried to pick Melody up. The young girl stirred slightly and Jane shushed her back to sleep as he cradled her against his shoulder. On a second thought he grabbed Sir Stitch-a-Lot and headed back downstairs. On his way out he slipped Melody's sandals on her feet with one hand.

"What're y'doing?" Melody slurred tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"We just have to go out. It's okay. Go back to sleep."

"Wher'we going?"

"Just out."

"Teresa?"

"We're meeting her there."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise. Go back to sleep." Jane patted Melody's head.

Melody rested her head on his shoulder again and closed her eyes, falling back asleep quickly.

"There you go." Jane whispered, rubbing her back. He grabbed the first jacket he saw and placed it over Melody as he left, using Lisbon's keys to lock the door with one hand while holding Melody with the other. He placed Melody in the car seat, covering her with the jacket he had grabbed and put Sir Stitch-a-Lot on the seat next to her. Then, he climbed into the driver's seat and drove to the hospital carefully.

"I'm here for Teresa Lisbon." Jane told the nurse behind the counter quietly.

The nurse looked up at him from her computer. "The waiting room is just down the hall. First door on your left."

"Thank you." Jane nodded and started to walk down the hall when a loud alarm went off, causing him to flinch and startling Melody into consciousness.

Melody looked around for a moment, blinking. "Is this the hospital?" She asked, looking at Jane.

He just looked back at her, unsure of what to say.

"Why are we at the hospital?"

"We're here to…play doctor."

"Where's Teresa?"

"She's playing doctor. With the doctors."

"That's stupid." Melody frowned. "You don't play doctor with doctors at a hospital because doctors can't play when they're being doctors."

"You have no proof they can't have a little fun."

Melody looked at Jane worriedly. "She's in the hospital isn't she?"

"It's going to be-"

"She is!" Melody's lower lip quivered. "I want to see her."

"You can't right now." Jane shook his head.

"I _want_ to!" Melody demanded.

This was a whole other side of Melody that Jane hadn't seen before and he had a feeling that wasn't the worst of it. "Calm down. We will be able to see her in a little bit." Even though he was still trying to calm himself down.

"No." Melody tried to get out of his arms. "Now. We have to see her _now_."

Jane fumbled with Melody struggling in his arms for a moment, but got a good grip on her again. "We can't. The doctors need to be with her now."

"No! Now!"

"You have to be quiet, Melody."

"No! Nonono-!" Melody continued to struggle.

"Hush." Jane told her. "Yelling isn't going to get her out here any sooner. We have to be patient. It's hard, I know. But, that's what we have to do." He hugged her tightly and she placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to push herself away to no avail. After a few minutes she submitted to the fact she wasn't going to get away and started to cry on his shoulder.

"It's alright." Jane whispered. "You don't have to cry. I'm sure she's going to be just fine." He rubbed Melody's back and bounced her a bit. "I know you're worried. I'm worried, too. I want her to be okay as well."

"Is there something I can do?" The nurse from behind the counter asked, standing up.

"Maybe a lollipop?" Jane asked. "Do you have any?"

"Yes." The nurse nodded and opened a drawer, rummaging around for a moment. "What flavour?"

"What flavour lollipop do you want, Melody?"

"I don't want a lollipop." Melody sobbed, her voice muffled by Jane's shirt.

"It's yummy."

"I don't care."

Jane looked at the nurse. "Um. Orange, I guess." Melody had told him that she liked orange freezies, hopefully she liked orange lollipops too. "Thank you." Jane said, taking the candy from the nurse and walking down the hallway into the waiting room. He sat down, still cuddling Melody and trying to console her. He made sure that the jacket that he'd grabbed was wrapped around her well enough to keep her warm and kissed her head. Jane did his best to make her feel better and finally got her to eat the lollipop. Not long after finishing the treat, Melody fell back asleep.

A little while later Jane was feeling really sleepy until a doctor walked into the waiting room. The room was basically empty aside from himself and Melody, so he stood up when the doctor walked in, knowing it had to be news on Lisbon. "Can I see her?" was his first question.

The doctor, a short man with faded eyes and short red hair, looked at him for a moment and then glanced at Melody. "She has a mild concussion as well as minor bruising and some nonfatal cuts. She'll live, but she's asleep right now and we will keep her in the hospital overnight. We will see how she is tomorrow."

The 'she'll live' part made Jane feel like a huge weight had been lifted from him chest. "Thank you. Can I see her now?" He repeated.

"Yes. Don't wake her up and be gentle when you talk to her."

Jane nodded. The doctor told him the room number and he eagerly made his way to it. He opened the door a crack and peeked inside, his stomach twisted a bit at seeing her in the hospital bed and he wasn't sure if it was in relief that she was alive or sadness at seeing her harmed. Either way, he pushed the door open enough to walk in and then closed it gently with his foot behind him. He placed Sir Stitch-a-Lot on one of the chairs and made his way over to the other side of the bed.

Lisbon had some small bruises and scratches on her face. The one that really drew his attention was the bigger cut that ran over her left cheek that was covered with gauze and medical tape. The beeping heart monitor told him that her heart was beating well. Steady and strong. Lisbon's arms were also covered in cuts and bruises, but they didn't seem that bad. Her right arm had an IV in it that Jane was careful not to disturb. Jane walked around to the left side of the bed, still carrying Melody, and then placed the small girl gently down next to Lisbon. Melody nuzzled closer to Lisbon in her sleep and Jane covered her with the blankets as well, then placed the jacket back over her for good measure. He leaned down and kissed Lisbon's head, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. "It's going to be okay." He murmured into her hair, more to reassure himself than her. "You're going to be fine." Then he pulled a chair up next to her bed and sat in it, taking her left hand in both of his. She was not as warm as she usually was and that didn't do anything to calm Jane's nerves, but he kept holding her hand anyway. He wasn't sure how exactly, but sitting by her bedside and holding her hand was how he fell asleep.

-Mentalist-

He was woken up at some ungodly hour in the morning by one nurse that had come to check on Lisbon. The clock on whatever gadget he saw told him that it was three AM. At the nurse's suggestion and with her help, Jane shifted Lisbon and Melody over gently so that there would be room for him on the bed. After a quick washroom break, Jane kicked off his shoes and climbed on top of the covers, protectively cuddling Melody and Lisbon until he woke up again.

The second time he was woken up there was sun shining in the hospital room's window. Jane slowly opened his eyes, trying to give them time to adjust to the morning light. He saw Lisbon and Melody sleeping next to him and he smiled. Lisbon's eyelids flickered and she grunted as she began to open her eyes, also not appreciating the bright light as she tilted her head to the side and looked back at him.

"Morning." Jane said softly, smiling. "You don't know how good it is to see you awake. You scared the hell out of me, Teresa. Don't ever do that to me again."

"It wasn't much fun for me either." Lisbon replied groggily.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great. I think I'm just gonna go run a marathon." Lisbon said quietly and sarcastically. "I feel like crap."

"Language. There _are_ little ears here, Teresa." Jane gestured with his head to Melody.

Lisbon's gaze fell on Melody, who was still asleep. "Have you two been here all night?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." Jane propped himself up on one elbow. "Melody just about had a fit when we got here and couldn't see you."

"Thank you."

"For what?" Jane tilted his head. "For being so good with her. You didn't have to stay all night. You could have gone back, you know. And come see me in the morning."

"Melody wouldn't have been happy."

"I'm sure she'd have been much easier to handle after a good night's sleep."

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done." Jane brushed some hair out of her face.

Melody yawned and shifted a bit before opening her eyes slowly. She blinked a few times and looked around. "Teresa!" Melody cheered as she scrambled to sit up and then leaned back down to give Lisbon a hug, nuzzling her face into Lisbon's neck.

"Good morning." Lisbon smiled, despite her sore body, and hugged Melody back with her left arm.

Melody kissed her nose and then sat back up. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. "Does it hurt badly?" She reached out and gently touched the bandage on Lisbon's left cheek.

"I'll be alright." Lisbon assured her. "I hear you were a bad girl and had a tantrum."

Melody bent her head slightly and looked away. "I'm sorry. But Patrick didn't let me see you. I said I had to and he said no. And I couldn't see you by myself either. And he wouldn't let me go-"

"Excuse me. I'm right here." Patrick said from behind her.

Melody turned to look at him. "You lied. You said she was playing. I told you. See? I told you doctors don't play when they're doctors. I _told_ you."

"Okay, okay. You were right. I'm sorry."

Melody seemed satisfied with that.

"You're all up."

Lisbon, Jane and Melody turned to see Millie standing in the entry to the room.

"Hi, Millie." Melody waved.

"Hello, sweetie." Millie smiled and walked over to the bed.

"Hello." Jane smiled, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sliding his feet back into his shoes.

"How are you feeling, Teresa?" Millie asked.

"Tired. Sore." Lisbon answered.

Millie nodded and checked some of the machines. "Maybe Patrick and Melody should go get some breakfast. The doctor will be here to see you in a few minutes."

"No." Melody shook her head. "I want to stay."

Lisbon looked at Jane and it was clear to him that she didn't want Melody to be there while the doctor was.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jane asked Melody. "I know I'm hungry. We'll go find something yummy."

"No."

"But I was hoping that you would bring me back something tasty. Like a cookie." Lisbon pouted at Melody. "Please? I'd really like a cookie. You have to go and make sure we get the best cookies that the hospital could make."

"Okay." Melody agreed, reluctantly.

"Thank you." Lisbon smiled at her and Melody smiled back.

Melody let Jane pick her up.

"We'll be back in a few minutes." Jane said, taking Lisbon's hand and giving it an encouraging squeeze before leaving.

-Mentalist-

"So, what do you want to eat?" Jane asked Melody as he carried her into the hospital cafeteria.

"I want a hot dog."

"That's not very breakfast-y."

"You asked me what I wanted, not what breakfast food is."

"How about some pancakes?" Jane suggested.

Melody looked around at her choices again. "Tacos."

"That's not breakfast-y either." Jane shook his head. "Something for _breakfast_."

Melody frowned at him and then sighed. "Fine. Pancakes."

"Pancakes it is." Jane nodded and got in line at a place that had pancakes on the menu. They quickly got their food and ate.

"What about the cookies?" Melody asked as they were gathering up their used napkins and things.

"We'll get those right now." Jane told her. "Now. You have to give me your expert opinion on which of the cookies are best." Jane picked up the tray and walked over to the nearest garbage can, discarding the trash and placing the tray on the ledge with Melody following him. They got in line at the small bakery place and Melody all but pressed her face against the protective glass, looking at the large assortment of treats in front of her.

"Next?" The cashier called.

Jane stepped up to the register and looked down at Melody. "Okay. Tell the man what you want, Melody. The three best cookies you see."

"Okay." Melody nodded and took a few steps, walking beside the glass. The bakery employee followed on the opposite side of the glass. "This one." Melody pointed. The baker grabbed some gloves, took the selected treat and put it in the bag. "And one of these." Melody pointed at one a few rows to the left and one row down. Again, that was placed in the bag. "And this." Melody pointed at one on the lower row to the right. When Melody saw that item being placed in the bag as well, she hurried back over to stand next to Jane.

The bakery employee returned to stand behind the cash register. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yep." Jane nodded and forked over the cash required as his purchase was rung up. "Thank you." Jane picked up the bag and took Melody's hand as they made their way back up to Lisbon's room.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon was sitting up in her bed when Jane and Melody returned. Jane was glad to note that Lisbon no longer had the IV in her arm.

"How did it go?" Jane asked as Melody shut the door.

"Okay, I guess." Lisbon gave a small shrug. "Did you guys have a nice breakfast?"

"Yeah." Melody said as she hurried over to Lisbon's bedside and tried to find a way to climb up.

Jane handed Melody the cookie bag and she took it. Then he picked her up and placed her sitting next to Lisbon.

"We got you a cookie." Melody said excitedly. "Just like you asked. Patrick let me pick it out and everything!"

"Wow." Lisbon smiled. "Good job."

Melody opened the bag and looked inside before reaching in to grab the cookie that she had specially picked out for Lisbon. "Here." She held the food item out to her aunt. It was a chocolate chip cookie with almonds.

"It looks delicious." Lisbon took the cookie from Melody. "Thank you very much." She took a bite.

"You're welcome." Melody reached into the bag and pulled out another one to hand to Jane, which he took. He had gotten chocolate fudge. Melody had selected a sugar cookie for herself.

"Did you call the team?" Lisbon asked Jane after swallowing another bite of her cookie.

"No. I didn't think to." Jane was now sitting on the side of the bed.

"Would you? Please?" Lisbon asked.

"Sure." Jane nodded and did as he was asked.

-Mentalist-

The team was there within a half an hour and crowded into Lisbon's hospital room. Predictably, Van Pelt was a bundle of worry, Rigsby was full of friendly concern and Cho was as stoic as he usually was but Jane could tell there was genuine concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine." Lisbon insisted as she slowly tried to get off the bed, working her sore and tired muscles.

"Don't overwork yourself." Van Pelt got out of her chair to stop Lisbon from getting up.

"Well, she's been overworking herself for years. It's not much of a surprise now." Jane said.

"Shut up." Lisbon told Jane, still trying to get off the bed.

"Such harsh words in front of such young ears." Jane gasped dramatically, grabbing Melody and pulling her to him.

Melody flailed her arms and legs for a moment, not prepared for being grabbed so suddenly. "Hey!"

Jane kissed her head.

They spent the rest of the day there until the evening when the hospital allowed Jane to sign Lisbon out.

-Mentalist-

"I'm sorry." Lisbon said as Jane drove them all home in Lisbon's car. Melody was sitting in the backseat playing one of her videogames and paying no attention to the adults in the front of the car.

"What for?" Jane asked.

"Your car. I'm pretty sure it's ruined. But, if it can be fixed, I'll pay for it. I promise."

"No." Jane shook his head. "Don't worry about it. That's not important."

Lisbon gave him an odd look. "Really? You loved that car. It was a deathtrap, but you loved it."

"Oh, I did love that. Don't get me wrong. And your poor opinion of her really did hurt her feelings." A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Let me tell you how sorry I am." Lisbon stuck out her tongue. "Never would I want to hurt your poor car's feelings."

"Apology accepted." Jane chuckled and glanced at her.

"Seriously, though. You really don't care?"

"That's not it." Jane shrugged. "Just…there are some things more important. I can find another car. Maybe I'll even get lucky and it's not beyond repair or I'll find one just like it. But I'll never find another Teresa Lisbon."

A smile slowly spread across Lisbon's face and she blushed, turning to look out the window. "Thank you."

"I talked to one of the officer's on the phone earlier, after they got your statement and left." Jane said quietly. "He told me that if you had been a foot further back, the drunk kid would have hit the driver's door instead of the driver's side back door and you'd probably have been seriously injured or dead. I asked the nurse when I was signing you out if that was true and she told me it was." He pulled into Lisbon's driveway.

"I guess I was very lucky, then."

"You were." Jane turned off the engine. "Let's head in then. Wait. I'll help you out." Jane opened his door and quickly got out.

"I don't need help." Lisbon protested. "I'm fine. Jeez." Lisbon opened her own door and moved awkwardly with her muscles still sore.

Jane grabbed her hand and helped her out anyway, ignoring her protests. He grabbed Melody out of the car seat and locked the car as they walked toward the front door, his arm around Lisbon's waist for support, and he unlocked it so they could step inside.

"I'm still going in to work tomorrow." Lisbon said after changing into her pyjamas and sat on the side of her bed.

"Don't be ridiculous." Jane told her. "You're not."

"You're going to stop me?"

"Am I going to have to?"

"You don't _have_ to." Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Just because you want to make me the reason you don't go to work, instead of the fact that you are just lazy, doesn't mean I'm going to let you."

"That's not it at all."

"Yeah, right." Lisbon smirked and turned off the light.

* * *

**Author's Note: That's it for now. Hope you liked it. Please leave a review. See you at the next chapter. :)  
**


	26. Ugly

**Author's Note: Hello! Sorry for the wait. Life got in the way and this chapter was longer than I thought it was going to be. But, I am happy to say this chapter is now complete and I present it to you all! Yay! As usual, I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.**

* * *

After an hour of bickering, that was briefly interrupted by breakfast, Lisbon finally won out and they headed for the office. She arrived later than she usually did and blamed it all on Jane, of course.

Melody was out in the bullpen playing some 'educational' game with Van Pelt while Lisbon tried to get some work done.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to take a break." Jane said as he sauntered into her office, teacup and saucer in hand.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to stop causing so much trouble. Maybe then I could take a break because I wouldn't have so much work to do." Lisbon shot back with a smirk, not even looking away from her computer.

"I try to take care of you. I rush to your bedside in the middle of the night. I let you destroy my car. And you still consider me a problem."

"You _are_ a problem."

"That's not very nice of you." Jane pouted jokingly and sat down on the couch in her office. They both sat in comfortable silence, completely content with the fact that the other was there and alive. "Do you want some more coffee?" Jane asked as he finished his tea a while later.

Lisbon looked up at him. "Yes. That'd be nice. Thank you."

Jane got up with his cup and saucer and grabbed her mug on his way out of the office, stealing the chance to kiss her on the cheek as he leaned over her desk to grab the ceramic item. Her eyes widened in surprise and she blushed slightly and trying to hide it. He smiled and headed out to the break room. While he had been in Lisbon's office, he'd watched through the window as Van Pelt passed Melody off to Rigsby so she could get some work done and now Rigsby had passed Melody off to Cho. He observed the scene as he walked by toward the break room. Melody was still playing one of her videogames, sitting on the side of Cho's desk with her legs dangling off the side and she swung them a bit.

"Look!" Melody said cheerily to Cho as her face lit up. "I beat my high score!" She twisted and held out the gaming device to show Cho her new achievement. Unfortunately she twisted too far and slipped off the side of the desk and let out a small squeak. Cho acted quickly on instinct, reaching out and snatching Melody out of the air as she fell and held her against his chest.

Jane had stopped walking when he saw Melody slip and the rest of the bullpen had stopped in shock as well. A few beats of silence passed as the bullpen registered that Melody was fine. The first noise to break the silence was Melody giggling.

"That was fun." Melody tried to climb back onto the desk, but Cho wouldn't let her.

"Nope." Cho's poker face had returned after being interrupted by a moment of shock. "No more of that."

"Aw." Melody pouted. "It was fun."

"Why don't you come help me get some coffee for Teresa?" Jane offered, standing in one of the entrances to the bullpen.

"Okay." Melody nodded.

Cho placed her on the floor so that she could run over and join Jane.

"Don't worry, Cho. I'm not going to ask you to _drop_ everything in order to come with us." Jane teased.

"Funny." Cho replied, stone-faced and returned to working on his computer.

"Come on, Melody." Jane smiled at her. "Lets go make Teresa the best coffee she's ever tasted."

"Yeah." Melody happily skipped along next to him on their way to the break room.

Jane poured the black liquid into Lisbon's mug then helped Melody add the cream and sugar, then let her stir it all in. He let Melody carry it back to Lisbon's office since she had insisted on it very stubbornly. Lisbons, as it seemed, were generally stubborn by nature. Jane made sure to keep a close eye on Melody to make sure she didn't spill the hot liquid all over herself. He held the door open and Melody carefully made her way into Lisbon's office.

"Here, Teresa! We got you coffee!" Melody announced, walking carefully around her aunts desk to present her with the full mug.

"Wow." Lisbon turned her chair and looked at Melody. "You did?" She took the mug and placed it on her desk. "Thank you!" She picked Melody up, placed her on her lap and kissed her head.

"Ahem" Jane cleared his throat.

"What?" Lisbon looked at him as he walked to stand on the other side of her desk.

"Where's my kiss? It was all my idea."

"It was." Melody nodded, looking up at Lisbon.

Lisbon sighed heavily and shook her head. "Well, I'm not getting up. You have to come here."

Jane walked around her desk and leaned over.

She quickly kissed his cheek. "There."

"Aw." Jane pouted.

"Aw, nothing. We're at work. I know this may be hard, but at least try and be professional.

Melody giggled.

-Mentalist-

"Hey, boss?" Van Pelt poked her head through the door of Lisbon's office, grabbing Lisbon, Melody and Jane's attention. It was the early afternoon.

"Yes?" Lisbon asked, looking up from her computer.

"An officer from Sac PD is here. And, also, if you'd like, Melody can sleep over at my house tonight." She gave Melody a small wave.

"A sleep-over?" Melody asked excitedly from the couch where she was sitting with Jane.

"Uh, sure." Lisbon was surprised by the offer.

"Gives you some time to relax." Van Pelt shrugged with a smile.

"Thank you." Lisbon nodded.

"I'm going to have a sleep-over!" Melody clapped. "What are we going to do?"

"We can watch movies and play games, and whatever else we want." Van Pelt answered cheerily.

"That sounds fun." Melody smiled brightly.

"Jane. Take Melody home and help her pack a bag." Lisbon picked up her keys and tossed them to him.

Luckily Jane reacted quickly enough to actually catch them. "Wha-what about this police business?" He asked. "Suddenly I'm not needed?"

"I'd like to have a civil conversation with a fellow law-enforcement officer that doesn't involve a Jane complaint. Now go." Lisbon made a shooing motion with her hands.

"Fine." Jane huffed dramatically, standing up and then picking Melody up as well. "Come on, Melody." With that, he carried the small girl out of Lisbon's office, past Van Pelt.

Melody smiled and waved at them both over Jane's shoulder.

Lisbon blew her a kiss and Melody returned the gesture before disappearing around the corner with Jane.

"Should I send the officer in?" Van Pelt asked.

"Yeah." Lisbon nodded.

-Mentalist-

About half an hour later, Lisbon was in the Sac PD building waiting to interview their criminal in holding. Why he had wanted to give a confession to someone from the CBI-specifically the Serious Crimes Unit-was beyond her. The confession was for fraud. Not murder. It wasn't even close to a Serious Crime Unit case, but she figured it would just make lives easier if she sat there and listened to this guys lame story for a tape recording. Then she could go back to her life.

"So, Mr. Daniels." Lisbon walked into the interrogation room and sat down, placing the tan folder she was carrying on the table in front of her. "You wanted someone from the Serious Crimes Unit in the CBI. Here I am. I'm Agent Teresa Lisbon."

The man sitting across from her, Adam Daniels, was of a small frame with a toned body and nicely groomed. Clearly he had money. Then again, his crime was fraud and he had probably stolen lots of money, so that explained that. He tilted his head to the side, seeming a bit confused, while he looked her up and down as if he were sizing her up or judging her.

"You worked with Richard Junes." Lisbon stated, very unamused. "You said your confession had to be to a CBI Serious Crimes Unit member. Here I am. You can confess now."

"Fine." Adam sighed. "Richard said the women on the unit were hot. I guess its hard to have a busted up face and look good. You tried, though."

Lisbon refused to let on that, that had affected her at all. Really, though, it did sting a little bit…plus a lot. "You're confession." She insisted flatly.

Adam let out another sigh and started with his confession to helping Richard scam people.

Lisbon was very happy to be let out of that room. She didn't think that she'd ever been so happy to leave an interrogation room before. She got the depute to drive her back to the CBI building once she was finished with the interview, though she just wanted to crawl under her bed covers and sleep forever.

-Mentalist-

Melody and Jane were reading on the couch in her office as it started to become evening, drawing closer to the end of the work day. Thank god! Of course, earlier in the day, Lisbon had gotten some reading time of her own in with Melody. One of the better points of her day, if she was being honest. It didn't take long before Van Pelt knock on her office door to take Melody for the night.

"Hey, boss." Van Pelt poked her head in, smiling. "I'm heading out." She turned to look at Melody. "You still coming?"

"Yeah!" Melody nodded and Jane put the book back in her bag before she jumped off the couch and hurried over to Van Pelt.

Lisbon got up from behind her desk and joined them at the door. She knelt down and gave Melody a big hug. "Be good." Lisbon kissed Melody's head. "And have fun."

"I will." Melody smiled and kissed Lisbon's nose.

Lisbon returned the gesture before letting go of Melody.

Melody turned and looked up at Jane, holding her arms up, expecting a goodbye hug.

Jane handed Van Pelt Melody's bag and quickly complied, scooping up the small girl and hugging her tightly.

"Goodnight, Patrick." Melody said when Jane put her down.

"Goodnight." Jane smiled.

"Goodnight, Teresa."

"Goodnight." Lisbon replied. "Don't stay up too late."

"I think she'll be fine." Van Pelt said. After their goodbyes were said, Van Pelt picked up Melody's bag and took Melody's hand. They said goodbye to the rest of the team as they passed the bullpen.

Rigsby and Cho followed with goodnights soon after and it wasn't very long before the bullpen was completely empty.

Lisbon feigned work at her computer and pretended that she didn't notice Jane's curious and observant gaze was fixed on her. Quickly growing uncomfortable, Lisbon grabbed her empty coffee mug and made a hasty exit to the break room for a refill. Jane had hardly seemed to have moved when she returned. Trying to ignore his strange behaviour, she went back to her computer. If something was wrong and he wanted to talk about it, he could talk. She wasn't going to make him talk. "Would you please _stop_ staring at me?" Lisbon asked, trying not to sound too irritated.

"Does it bother you that much?"

"Yes."

"Hm." Jane said thoughtfully, leaning back against the couch more, still looking at her.

"Hm?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"Why'd they want you at the Sacramento Police Department?" Jane asked casually.

"Some idiot friend of Richard Junes wanted to confess to a member of this team for some weird reason." Lisbon shrugged.

"How'd that go?"

"Fine."

"Hm." Jane said again, tapping his cheek lightly with an index finger. "I thought so."

"Excuse me?"

Jane ignored her, getting up from the couch and closing all the blinds on her office windows to separate them from the view of any miscellaneous passers by.

"What are you _doing_?" Lisbon crossed her arms and leaned back in her plush office chair, clearly annoyed.

"Come on." Jane was standing next to her chair, hands held out to help her up out of her chair.

Lisbon looked him up and down suspiciously. "No. What are you playing at?"

"Just get up. I'm not even trying to make you leave this room right now."

Lisbon stood up, not taking his offered hands and crossed her arms.

"What'd he say to you?" Jane asked gently.

"Excuse me?"

"Richard Junes' idiot friend. What did he say to you? You've been agitated, distant and evasive since you got back."

"He just confessed. I'm tired and I'm sore. I was hit by a car two days ago, if you recall, sorry if I'm not cheery."

"Well you certainly weren't this cranky yesterday. And I assume you were more sore yesterday than today. You're the one that insisted on working. Stop trying to avoid answering my question. _What_ did he say?"

Lisbon's features were set stubbornly and a certain spark of resistance was in her eyes. She glanced away for a moment before looking back. "It's nothing." She mumbled. "It's stupid. I'll be fine tomorrow. Just go home."

"If I go home without you, you're left without a car." Jane pointed out.

"I'll take a cab."

Jane's brows knit together. "You barely let me drive your car when you're _with_ me. Now you're just going to hand me the car?"

"Well it's not like I can afford the repairs for yours!" Lisbon snapped at him before she was able to stop herself. Moister began to form in her eyes.

"You're upset because you can't afford the repairs on my car?"

Lisbon pulled out her car keys and held them out to him. "Just take the stupid car. I'm sorry. I'll find another way to make it up to you."

"I don't want your car." Jane shook his head and refused to take the keys from her.

"What _do_ you want?"

"I _want_ you to tell me what is _wrong_." Jane told her firmly.

"Maybe I don't want to talk about it. Did that occur to you? Maybe I would rather deal with it on my own."

Jane didn't reply to that, but he didn't back down either.

"You said losing the car didn't bother you that much, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got it messed up, and I'm sorry that I don't have the money to get it repaired. And it bothers _me_ because it was my fault, but it wasn't my car. If it had been my car, I wouldn't have cared as much because it would have been my own problem. It's not fair to you that I got your car all messed up and I'm sorry." Lisbon couldn't help the tear that slipped out of the corner of her eye and down her cheek. She wiped at it and managed to remove the layer of makeup she'd applied to cover her bruises, to very little success, as well. Quickly, she turned and grabbed for her purse to find her makeup. She searched around the purse for a moment before she put it back on her desk and turned again to face Jane. "Give me my makeup back."

"I don't have your makeup." Jane shook his head, looking innocent.

"Well, where did you _hide_ it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Lisbon took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I need my makeup. Please, give it back to me."

"You don't _need_ it. You _want_ it. And I can't see why. It seems like so much trouble. As well as uncomfortable. I've actually lost count of how many times you've applied a new layer of it today."

"It's _my_ makeup. And it's _my_ face. I will do with them what I want. You can't tell me how much makeup I can put on."

"I'll give you back your makeup _if_, and only _if_, you take off all of the makeup you have on right now."

Lisbon pursed her lips. Why? She was going to put it all back on anyway! But, in order to put the makeup on, she needed to _have_ the makeup. "Fine."

"Oh, and if you tell me what the guy said to you."

"Jane!"

"Or you can lose all that makeup for good, Teresa."

"I'll tell you after I get the makeup back."

"But you still have to remove the makeup you have on first."

"_Fine_!" Lisbon grabbed her purse and looked through it again. He had left her makeup removing wipes. Jerk. She pulled one out of the pack and began wiping her face. It took five wipes and three minutes, but she managed to get basically all of it off.

With a gentle finger under her chin, Jane tilted her face to make sure she got it all. He grabbed one of the wipes and got a few spots under her chin and near her temples that she'd missed.

"Happy now?" Lisbon grumbled. "All my cut and bruised glory."

"It's not as bad as you think."

Lisbon grabbed her cell phone off her desk, using the screen as a makeshift mirror. "No, it's as bad as I think." Lisbon assured him.

"You're too critical."

"Give me my makeup back now."

"Goodness, woman." Jane held up his hands in surrender and turned, heading to the couch. She followed close behind so that he didn't try to pull any tricks. Jane stuck his hand between two of the cushions and fished around, pulling out a few of the containers at a time until he revealed all the makeup he had taken from her purse.

"The couch cushions? Really?" Lisbon swiped up her belongings.

"You have to tell me now." Jane reached out and held her arm, stopping her from retreating back behind her desk to reapply her makeup.

"Can I at least put my makeup back on?"

"No. That wasn't part of the deal. You should have been more specific with your conditions."

Lisbon groaned and placed her makeup on the small side table next to the couch, flopping down on the furniture with a huff.

Jane calmly sat down next to her, turning to face her, patiently waiting for her to talk.

Lisbon sat up properly and looked at him reluctantly. "He gave me the confession that he helped Junes con money from people. And he made a few rude comments to try and get under my skin."

"Rude comments like what? He called you ugly?"

Lisbon looked away, crossing her arms and a veil of her dark hair fell, protecting her expression from his view.

"That's what had you upset all day?"

"I know it's stupid. I know he just said it to get under my skin. But it bugged me. I wanted to deal with it by myself because it's stupid. You can't stop prying, can you? Ever." She let out a small sob. "Are you happy _now_?"

Jane gently pulled her against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder and holding her. "It's okay." Jane whispered. "You're just having a bad day. Everyone has bad days. Tomorrow will be better." He kissed her head and ran his fingers through her hair.

Lisbon wiped at her falling tears, but that didn't seem to stop them from being replaced.

"Lets get you home." Jane murmured into her hair. "You can have a nice warm shower and go to bed. You'll feel much better in the morning."

Lisbon sniffled and pulled away, sitting up properly with her tears slowing now. "This morning, I was just glad to be alive. Now, I just want to go crawl under a rock somewhere."

"Oh, you're not getting away from me _that_ easily." Jane teased lightly, trying to lighten her mood a bit.

Lisbon let out a small chuckle and the barest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as Jane leaned over and placed an affectionate kiss to her cheek.

Jane got up and walked over to her desk, saving whatever she'd been working on and then shutting down her computer. He grabbed her purse and her jacket, fishing out her office keys.

"At least let me grab some of the paperwork I need-"

"Not tonight, Teresa." Jane interrupted her, circling one arm around her abdomen while the other had her coat and purse, and pulling her out of her office and away from her desk that she'd wanted to go to. "Come on. Paperwork will be here tomorrow." He managed to get her out of her office and quickly locked the door. Getting her into her coat, he escorted her out to her car

-Mentalist-

Jane had been right. She actually felt better after her shower. He'd made her some food that he insisted she eat in fear that she was going to starve herself to death. Or some similar crazy theory he had. He was impossible. Lisbon made sure her alarm was set and she turned off the bedside light.

"Um. Now I can't see." Jane said and in the barely existing light, Lisbon made out his form in the doorway.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and turned the light back on.

"There we go." Jane smiled as he made his way over to the bed and crawled under the covers.

Lisbon turned the light off again and snuggled into her pillow. It took only a moment before she felt Jane wrap his arms around her waist and snuggle against her back. She shifted so that she was facing him.

"You okay?" Jane asked.

"I'm fine."

"Good. We'll have some fun tomorrow."

"Fun for you, or fun for Melody?" Lisbon closed her eyes, trying not to sound too sceptical.

"Fun for everyone." Jane smiled.

Lisbon groaned and Jane smirked.

"Oh, and, Teresa?"

"Yeah?" Lisbon sighed tiredly.

"You're a beautiful woman. Don't forget that."

Lisbon opened her eyes to look at him, her eyes now more adjusted to the dark. "I'll try not to." She smiled.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's it for this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! See you all next chapter! =3**


	27. Big and Small

**Author's Note: Yay! Chapter 27! Thank you everyone who reviewed the story so far! Reviews are part of what motivate me! Hopefully, these next few weeks I will be able to write more and have chapters up quicker. Hopefully. I can't promise anything. I'm glad that you have all enjoyed the story so far, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
**

**Disclaimer: Dear Bruno Heller, sharing is caring.  
**

* * *

Jane wasn't usually a violent man. But when Lisbon's alarm went off the next morning, he just wanted to smash the stupid thing into a bunch of tiny little useless pieces.

Lisbon reached out and hit the off button, yawning. She tried to get up, but Jane wouldn't let her go. "Come on." She grumbled, shoving his shoulder. "Time to get up."

Jane mumbled something incoherent and snuggled closer to her.

"I _will_ kick you." Lisbon threatened with a smirk.

"So violent, Teresa." Jane teased, finally loosening his grip.

"I try," Lisbon folded back the blankets and slipped out of bed, grabbing clothes to change into.

Jane tried to grab a few extra minutes of sleep, though now he couldn't get comfortable. Soon he gave up and got up himself, heading down to the kitchen since Lisbon occupied the bathroom.

-Mentalist-

"Teresa! Patrick!" Melody exclaimed when she saw the pair enter the bullpen. She jumped off Jane's couch and ran over to them, hands over her head like she was expecting a hug.

"Good morning!" Lisbon greeted her cheerily, ignoring the slight soreness in her muscles as she bent down to pick up Melody and cuddle her close.

"Hi." Melody smiled. "Are you better today?"

"Yes. I'm feeling much better, thank you. Did you and Van Pelt have fun?"

"Yeah." Melody nodded. "We watched movies and played games _and_ this morning, Grace braided my hair." She tilted her head forward so Lisbon could see better. "She said it was French braided. She's French. Did you know that?"

Lisbon chuckled. "That's very exciting. You look very nice with your French braid."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lisbon smiled and gave Melody over to Jane so he could get a good morning hug from Melody as well.

"It's a very nice braid." Jane smiled and jokingly added, "Do you think I could get my hair braided like that?"

Melody laughed. "No, silly. You're hair is too short and curly." She patted his curls.

"That's too bad. Maybe I'll grow it out."

"That would look goofy on you." Melody told him.

"We'll have to see, won't we?" Jane smiled.

Jane, Lisbon and Melody all went into Lisbon's office, the door closing behind them.

"Oh. I suppose that now would be a good time to tell you I have some errands to run." Jane told her.

"Errands?" Lisbon looked over at him from behind her desk.

"Yes. And don't worry, I am going to take a cab. I think it's better if I do that anyway."

"Where are you going?"

"If I told you it would ruin the surprise." Jane smiled at her.

Lisbon groaned. "Please do me a favour and ruin the surprise. Where are you going?"

"No can do." Jane shook his head. "It's no fun if it's not a surprise. But trust me. You're going to love it. I promise."

Lisbon sighed irritably and tried to say something to him, but he was gone out of her office too fast. "Damn it." She muttered.

-Mentalist-

Jane returned around lunch time carrying a bag with no logo. Lisbon had just gotten Melody up from her nap.

"Surprise number one." Jane said as he sauntered into Lisbon's office and reached into the bag. Lisbon watched suspiciously as he pulled out an orange envelope, the type used for legal documents.

Lisbon took the envelope when it was offered and carefully opened it. If something jumped out at her or squirted her with water, she was going to punch him. Seriously. She pulled out the document inside and read it. Jane watched with a smile on his face as he watched Lisbon's expression changed from suspicion to relief to relieved disbelief. "Patrick…when-how-?" She looked up at him.

"Of all the kinds of drunk kids that could have hit you, at least this kid's parents are rich."

"How did you get them to agree to pay for the repairs? When did you even talk to them?"

"They called my cell phone because it was my car, so it was my information that came up when they talked to the cops. It wasn't hard to get them to agree. They were terrified that I was going to take the kids name to the news and that, that would 'ruin their family name'. They were the ones that offered to pay for the repairs. If you read further, you'll see that I even got them to cover some of your hospital expenses."

"Thank you." Lisbon breathed, looking back down at the document.

"Patrick's going to get his car back!" Melody clapped from where she sat on Lisbon's office couch.

"Yes, I am." Jane smiled. "Come'ere!" He held out his arms and Melody rushed over, jumping into his offered hug. "But that's not all I have for a surprise."

"What else!?" Melody asked, excitedly.

Jane put her down and reached into the bag again. He pulled out a little black bundle of cloth. "Go into the bathroom and change into this, would you?"

"Okay!" Melody ran out of the office for the bathroom.

Lisbon was now confused and back to being sceptical as she got up from behind her desk and walked over to him.

"And this one is for you." Jane handed her a larger bundle. "Humour me and try it on? Please?"

Lisbon looked at the fabric in her hand and walked out of the office toward the bathroom as well.

Jane went into the bullpen to wait for them both to return with their shirts. He was sitting on his couch when Melody walked into the bullpen after changing.

"Aaaawwwwww!" Van Pelt gasped.

Melody had on a black t-shirt with white block letters that spelled the words "_The Littlest Lisbon_" which was framed with a design of little red hearts and yellow shooting stars. Whether Jane had purposefully gotten the shirt a few sizes too big or that was just the smallest size they had, no one knew, but it was very cute and it added to the shirts statement. The shirt bottom reached just over her knees and the sleeve bottoms hung loosely past her elbows. The young girl was smiling ear-to-ear because she'd gotten a good reception to her added wardrobe item.

"Lets see the back." Jane told her and Melody turned so that everyone could see the back of the shirt where Melody's name was printed in the same letters as the front.

"That's adorable." Van Pelt reached into her desk to grab her camera and took a photo.

"Where's Teresa?" Jane asked Melody.

"She doesn't want to come out." Melody told him. "She said she looked rediclus-redicalus-re"

"Ridiculous." Jane smiled and sighed. "I'll go talk to her."

"But she's in the _girls'_ washroom. You can't go in the girls' washroom!"

"Of course not. I'll talk to her through the door." Jane assured her. He made his way out of the bullpen and over to the womens' washroom, stopping outside of the closed door and knocking on it. "Teresa?"

The door swung open, revealing Lisbon in her chosen outfit, holding the shirt Jane had gotten her.

"Why won't you wear it?" Jane pouted.

"I look ridiculous in it." Lisbon huffed.

"Aw, come on. You can't humour me just this once?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please with the promise of chocolate ice cream with any topping you want on top?"

"…No." Lisbon actually seemed to consider that one for a moment.

"Please with the promise of me not calling you embarrassing pet names all day."

"You haven't called me by an embarrassing pet name."

"Doesn't mean I can't start." Jane grinned.

"You wouldn't."

"I think that from experience by now, you know that most indeed I _would_."

"Way to be discreet about everything." Lisbon hissed.

"Meh." Jane shrugged. "They all have probably figured it out by now, anyway. They're not stupid, Teresa. Now go. Change. Come on out. I'll be waiting."

Lisbon grumbled and rolled her eyes as she turned to go back into the washroom.

"Remember the consequence if you don't, honey-boo." Jane called after her sweetly, smirking because he saw her cringe at the pet name just before the door closed. Well, his work here was done. Time to wait for her to join him in the bullpen.

Jane sat with Melody on his couch in the bullpen as they all waited for Lisbon to appear and luckily, she didn't take very long. She had a very unenthusiastic expression on her face as she stepped into the bullpen. Everyone had to bite back laughter. Her shirt was similar to Melody's in the sense it was black with white block letters, but Lisbon's shirt said "_The Biggest Lisbon_". The design around the words was different as well, consisting of silver handcuffs and…red roses? Why? Lisbon's shirt was also too big for her. It was practically a dress, the bottom hanging half way down her thigh and the sleeves around her elbows. There was no way that one was a mistake. Jane had clearly done that on purpose and instead of adding to the shirts statement like Melody's had, the bagginess served to make the shirt look very ironic.

Lisbon glared at Jane. "I hate you. I hate you _so_ much."

"Show us the back." Jane was trying to hide the laughter in his voice, though it was proving difficult.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and turned to show everyone her name printed on the back of the shirt. Van Pelt had, had to take a picture to Lisbon's displeasure. Oh, and a picture of her and Melody together. Of course.

"Okay. I'm going to change back into my shirt now." Lisbon told them and made a hasty exit so no one else was tempted to take more pictures or make comments.

-Mentalist-

About two hours later, Jane poked his head back into Lisbon's office. "You up for a little surprise field trip?"

Lisbon groaned and placed her head down on her desk. "No!"

"You can't honestly tell me that you don't secretly love that t-shirt. Melody likes hers. As a matter of fact, she's still wearing hers. Besides, we're bringing Melody as well."

"On Melody, it's cute. On me, it looks stupid. And _no_."

"I think you looked cute in your t-shirt." Jane defended. "And _yes_."

"Lying about it doesn't make it any less stupid-looking on me. And _no_."

"Who's lying? _Yes_."

"You are. _No_."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Maybe so!" Melody burst into the middle of their argument, with her little sweater and Sir. Stitch-a-Lot, all ready to go.

"You _already_ told her we were going somewhere?"

"Of course. Because we're going."

"Patrick has another surprise!" Melody hopped up and down on the spot.

Lisbon pursed her lips, knowing that she was now obligated to agree, which is what Jane was counting on. She saved her work and shut down her computer, grabbing her jacket. She told the team she would be back and they might as well go home early tonight unless a case came in before she left. "Where are we going?" Lisbon asked as she searched her pockets for her keys.

"I told you. It's a surprise." Jane held up the keys and jingled them in front of her before he went around to the drivers' side.

Lisbon strapped Melody in and got into the front passenger seat, not very excited to see where they were going as Jane drove out of the CBI lot. She wasn't sure if it was the fact she had lived in cities her entire life, or the fact she had driven around Sacramento so much, but everything seemed to look the same. The building Jane pulled into the lot off looked familiar, but not in an obvious way. It was more like one of those things you see every day, yet never take notice of. The three of them got out of the car, Jane picking Melody up and carrying her, while using his other arm to wrap around Lisbon's waist to keep her close. Once they were at the doors, Lisbon recognised the building. "Why here?" She asked.

"Just for fun." Jane shrugged.

"I don't get it." Melody's brows furrowed.

"You're going to meet some people." Jane told her, though that didn't explain anything to Melody.

They walked inside and past the entrance room, through the doors to the main room which had a stage. All the lights were on, making the room seem average with the exception of the stage that had a staircase on it. Average-sized round dining tables were scattered over the regular floor that wasn't covered by the stage and were holding upside-down chairs. On the stage there was a group of people in outfits ranging from sparkling dresses, to casual wear.

"Hello, ladies." Jane called to them cheerfully as he walked with Lisbon toward the stage.

The group on stage turned to look at him.

"Patrick!" Glenda replied cheerfully as she caught sight of him. Today she was wearing a flowing cocktail-like dress with heels and her usual wig. She made her way down the steps off the stage. "And who is this adorable little thing?" She cooed as she took a step toward him, poking Melody's nose. She looked up at Jane and Lisbon. "Is she yours?"

"She's my niece." Lisbon replied quickly, so Jane couldn't say anything.

"I'm Melody."

"Melody." Glenda repeated, looking back at the young girl. "That's a beautiful name."

"Thank you."

"May I?" Glenda asked.

"Sure." Jane nodded and handed Melody over to her.

"Look everyone!" Glenda turned so she could show Melody to the rest of the cast. "Patrick and Teresa brought us an adorable surprise guest."

"Hello!" Melody used both of her hands to wave at all the other cast members.

A chorus of '_aw_'s erupted from the other members of the show.

"How old are you sweetie?" Glenda asked.

"Four." Melody informed her proudly, holding up four fingers.

The group chuckled.

"Do you have a special talent to show us?" One blonde member asked.

"Like what?" Melody tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Can you sing or dance?" Glenda specified. "Or do a cool trick?"

"I can sing and dance!" Melody told her excitedly.

"Oh, really?" Glenda smiled.

"Yeah." Melody nodded. "Teresa can, too!"

Glenda turned to look at Lisbon who flushed pink.

"I really can't." Lisbon shook her head. "She's just being nice."

"No I'm not." Melody insisted. "She taught me a song, too. We danced to it. Remember, Teresa? When you visited for Christmas and we had to make the chicken? Remember?"

Lisbon very badly wanted to say no. She didn't want to have to sing and/or dance in front of all the drag show cast. She _really_ didn't want to. "I remember." Damn.

"Oh, really? What song did you teach her?" Jane asked, curiously.

"Doesn't matter." Lisbon muttered to him.

"I'd like to know." Jane smiled.

"'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls." Melody announced.

Jane tried to hide his laughter, but a laughing snort made it out before he could stop it. He should have guessed it was something by the Spice Girls.

Lisbon elbowed him in the side and sent him a glare.

"Now, now." Jane patted her shoulder and smiled.

"How about you sing for us?" Glenda asked Melody.

"You want me to sing for you?"

"Of course, sweetie. I'm sure you have a beautiful voice."

"Well I can't sing 'Wannabe' without the music. I can only sing the _Itsy, Bitsy Spider_."

"I _love_ the _Itsy, Bitsy Spider_!" Glenda gasped.

"You do?" Melody smiled brightly.

"Of course! Who doesn't love the _Itsy, Bitsy spider_? Right, ladies?" The rest of the cast nodded and made agreeable noises. "Would you do us the honour of performing the _Itsy, Bitsy Spider_ for us? You can sing on stage. We'll give you a spotlight and everything."

"Okay." Melody clapped and Glenda placed her on the stage as the rest of the cast hurried into the audience space, turning off the lights and putting the spotlight on Melody who had taken her place in the middle of the stage.

Jane and Lisbon pulled some chairs off the table and sat on them.

Melody squinted against the bright spotlight in the now dark room. "Ready?"

"Ready." Everyone in the audience replied.

Melody took a deep breath. "The itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout." She held her hands above her head. "Down came the rain and"-she swept both her arms downward in front of her-"_washed_ the spider out. Out came the sun"-she made a large circular motion with her hands-"and dried up all the rain. So, the its by, bitsy spider went up the spout again."

The audience applauded and cheered for her, prompting Melody to smile brightly and take a bow as the lights came back on.

"That was wonderful!" Glenda cheered as she walked up the stairs and onto the stage.

"You really liked it?"

"How couldn't I?"

Melody blushed slightly. "Thank you."

Glenda scooped her up again. "No, thank _you_."

They visited with the cast for a little while longer, but they had to get back to rehearsal so Lisbon, Jane and Melody had to leave.

"That was fun." Melody said, resting her head on Jane's shoulder as they all walked back out to their car.

"It was." Jane agreed. "Too bad Teresa couldn't sing for us."

"Shut up." Lisbon smacked him.

"Calm down." Jane smirked as he unlocked the car and got Melody into her car seat.

"Is there something else you have planned for us today?" Lisbon asked from the passenger seat as Jane started the car.

"No, not today. Now you can go back to your office and have a boring average day. I promise."

-Mentalist-

Lisbon stretched as she walked out of the bathroom in her pyjamas. This really had been a much better day than the one before and she was glad. Now, Melody was all tucked in and she was off to bed as well. She found it odd that her bed was empty when she entered her room. Jane had changed into his pyjamas first. Usually he'd be waiting for her. She turned and headed down the stairs, noticing that there was still a lamp left on in the living room that she never remembered turning on. She saw Jane sitting on the couch staring at one of the windows. "Patrick?"

Her voice seemed to startle him slightly and he blinked as he turned to look at her, surprised. "Lisbon."

Lisbon? Not Teresa? She decided not to mention it as she sat on the couch next to him, leaning back. "What's up?"

"Uh…nothing."

"That sounded like something."

"It's…it's not. Don't worry about it." Jane turned away from her.

"Hey." She nudged his knee with hers. "Spill. What's up with you? You were fine when we were tucking Melody in."

Jane leaned back against the couch. "I…There are some things I have to figure out."

"What kind of things?"

"Just things."

"_Jane_. What happened in the ten minutes that I was in the bathroom? Seriously?"

"I looked at a calendar." Jane mumbled.

"A calendar?" Lisbon repeated.

Jane actually looked at her now. "You're probably not going to see much of me tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I told you. I need to figure some things out."

"I don't know what's wrong, but we'll work it out. Just let me help."

"This isn't something I can be helped with."

Lisbon's eyes were filled with worry and she didn't know what else to say to him.

Jane leaned over and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in her shoulder. "I'm not going to leave you. I promise." He pulled away. "I just need a little space."

Lisbon was hurt. What wasn't he telling her? What the hell was wrong? "Okay." Her voice wasn't quite steady.

Jane leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Go to bed. Don't worry. I'll be fine." _I hope_. He added in his head.

"Okay. Fine." Lisbon mumbled as she got up from the couch and headed up to her room. She just hoped that if Jane was in some kind of trouble, he'd tell her before it was completely unfixable.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's chapter 27. I'm sad to say that there's only a few more chapters left in this fanfiction, though like I said before, there will probably be a sequel. However, this one isn't done yet and I'm excited to see what you guys thought of this chapter. Please leave a review! =3  
**


	28. Angels

**Author's Note: I didn't get this done as fast as I'd hoped, but I finally finished this chapter. Yay! And as I'm sure most of you have guessed, it's a little sad. I hope you all enjoy it! Again, thank you to all you guys who read and review!  
**

**Disclaimer: Can I at least buy up a share in the Mentalist?  
**

* * *

Lisbon opened her eyes slowly. She felt odd with Jane's scent and body heat missing. However, she was still warm and cozy. She looked down and saw Melody snuggled against her, still peacefully asleep. Melody hadn't been with her when she'd fallen asleep. She'd been in her own room. Maybe Melody had snuck in during the night. That made sense. Either way, Lisbon wasn't particularly worried about it. Honestly, she was glad for the comfort of having Melody with her, even if Melody didn't understand what was wrong. Or that anything _was_ wrong. She was like a cute little rock for Lisbon to anchor herself with. Lisbon kissed the girl's head and Melody sighed happily, snuggling closer to her. Lisbon couldn't help but smile a little, glancing at her alarm clock. She had five minutes before the stupid thing went off. She closed her eyes and snuggled with Melody for what remained of the peaceful time she had.

"Mmmnnnhhhhh." Melody complained when the alarm went off, trying to snuggle closer to her aunt.

Lisbon hit the off button and stretched a bit. "Good morning." She tried to sound cheerful.

"I'm tired." Melody mumbled into the pillow.

"Okay, then. You sleep for a few more minutes." Lisbon said as she got out of bed and then tucked the blankets back around Melody before heading for the bathroom.

"Where's Patrick?" Melody asked as Lisbon got them both some cereal and orange juice after they were both dressed.

"Uh…he's busy today. He had some stuff to do." Lisbon tried to sound as casual as possible.

Melody looked around the kitchen as if expecting him to pop up out of nowhere. "He didn't even say goodbye…"

"Oh, I'm sure he's not going to be long." Lisbon tried to be optimistic for Melody. The last thing she needed was for Melody to be upset. "He'll be back soon."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Melody gave her a slightly suspicious look and then nodded. "Okay." She gave Lisbon a smile.

-Mentalist-

Jane's absence was noticed by everyone at work. Sure, he'd been absent before, but those were periodic. Usually he'd stroll through or into the bullpen or Lisbon's office at least once. Even if they didn't see it, there'd be some evidence of his presence. Not today. This made it difficult for Lisbon to focus on her work. What was with Jane today!? At the end of her rope, Lisbon g_oogle'_d the date. She glanced over at Melody who was napping on her office couch, one of the only normal things of the day, before looking back at the computer screen. She scrolled through all the links, seeing if there was anything of relevance. Nothing. The closest to relevance that she got was an article about some suit designer that was now selling his company to someone else she didn't care about. Basically, rich and overpaid man sells out to someone. Shocker. On a whim of an idea, Lisbon backspaced out the year in the search and hit enter again. The first headline that came up was "_Mother and Daughter Murdered: Red John Strikes Again_". Lisbon had to stop her jaw from dropping. How had she missed that!? How hadn't she _known_!? She'd never felt more stupid or insensitive in her whole life! Of course he wouldn't want to be around them all today. Lisbon closed her browser and sat back in her chair, placing her folded hands in her lap and just staring at them. What could she do now? What was she _to_ do? He probably felt sad. And most likely, very alone. She didn't even know where he was, so what could she do?

Melody yawned and stretched as she woke up from her nap and sat up. "Teresa?" She turned to look at her aunt.

"Yes?" Lisbon looked up from her hands and over at Melody.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Melody tilted her head to the side. "You look sad."

"Everything's fine."

Melody pouted a little, feeling that she was being lied to. "Can we get some food? I'm hungry."

"Sure. What do you want to eat? We'll go out today."

"Tacos?"

"Tacos sound delicious." Lisbon smiled at her, getting up from her chair and shutting down her computer. "Melody and I are going out for lunch." She told the team as she and Melody walked past the bullpen. "Call me if anything comes up."

"Sure thing, boss." Cho replied quickly.

Lisbon let Melody push the down button for the elevator as they waited.

"Are there lots of places to get tacos?" Melody asked to make conversation.

"I think I've seen a few places around here." Lisbon answered, sounding a little bit preoccupied.

"Have you ever been in one?"

"No, I haven't. This will be my first time." The elevator pinged and the doors opened. They both stepped inside and Lisbon let Melody push the button for the ground floor. It was just the two of them in the elevator.

"Is Patrick going to see us there?"

"I don't think so, Melody."

"He has lots of stuff he's doing."

"Yeah. He's busy today."

"Maybe we should bring him a taco."

"Maybe we'll take him to the restaurant after if it's good." Lisbon tried to give Melody a convincing smile.

"Maybe we should go get some chocolate ice cream." Melody looked up at her aunt. "You look sad today."

"Or maybe you just want some chocolate ice cream. You sneaky girl." Lisbon teased, sticking out her tongue.

Melody giggled. "Well, I don't mind if you want some and shared."

-Mentalist-

It wasn't hard for them to find a taco place. There was one just down the block and it seemed decent enough. Lisbon and Melody ordered, taking the tray when it was filled and sat at a table next to one of the big windows that overlooked the street. The tacos were quite good, though Melody had to eat half of hers off the wrapper and Lisbon had to keep the other half from landing all over Melody's shirt, but they were still good. A quaint flower shop across the street caught Lisbon's eye and gave her an idea. When they were done eating, they left the restaurant and headed into the flower shop.

"Flowers?" Melody asked.

"Yes." Lisbon nodded. "I need you to help me find the prettiest flowers. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Melody smiled brightly, following behind Lisbon and examining the flowers at her eye level.

It didn't take long for the pair to have two small bouquets of randomly selected flowers that Melody thought were pretty. Lisbon had tried to make them look like each had some kind of thoughtful colour-arranging scheme to them, but she probably didn't do that great of a job. It's the thought that counts, right? Maybe seeing that someone else bothered to put some flowers on their graves would help make him feel less alone. She hoped so. It's all she had. Lisbon and Melody thanked the shop keeper and carried the bouquets out with them to the car.

"Why did we buy flowers?" Melody asked as Lisbon strapped her into her car seat. "Is somebody getting married?"

"No." Lisbon shook her head and kissed Melody's cheek. She'd have rather gone by herself and left Melody with Van Pelt, but somehow that hadn't seemed right. Melody was her responsibility, and she was going take that responsibility. Her niece wasn't some burden to be handed off to her team so that she could run off and be sad. "I'll explain when we get there."

-Mentalist-

Melody was silent basically the entire ride to the cemetery. She seemed to have an inkling as to the emotional gravity of the situation, despite not knowing anything about what was going on. Lisbon unbuckled her seat belt and they each carried a bouquet as they walked hand in hand on the cemetery path. It would have been a lie if Lisbon said that she hadn't at least half expected Jane to be there, but he wasn't. That was probably for the best. Regardless of how much Lisbon wanted to help him feel better, she doubted he would be very happy with the idea.

"Who are they?" Melody asked, looking at the two tomb stones they had stopped in front of. She tried reading the names out loud. "Char-low-te. Anne Jane."

"Charlotte." Lisbon corrected.

"Angel-ah. Ruskpin Jane"

"Angela Ruskin." Lisbon corrected her again.

"Sorry." Melody bowed her head slightly.

"It's okay. You did your best. I don't think they mind."

"Who are they?" Melody looked up at Lisbon. "Charol-Charlotte and An-Angela? They have the same name as Patrick"

Lisbon returned Melody's gaze for a moment that passed in silence before she replied. "They're his family."

Melody blinked as the information she had just been told sank in. She looked back at the tomb stones. "Are they angels, too? Like grandma and grandpa?"

"Yes." Lisbon answered quietly. "They're angels."

"I saw grandma and grandpa's angel stones, too. Why do people become angels? Annabeth said everyone becomes an angel differently. Is that true?"

"It is." Lisbon's stomach did flip-flops with sadness. Maybe she really should have left Melody with Van Pelt. Too late now, though. "How about we give them their flowers?"

"Okay. Are they his grandparents, too?" Melody looked up at Lisbon again.

"No." Lisbon gave a small, sad smile.

"Well, then who?"

"Angela…was his wife. And…Charlotte…was his daughter."

"Oh." Melody looked at the bouquet in her hand before slipping her other hand out of Lisbon's and carefully making her way up to the base of Charlotte's tomb stone. She looked at the engraved name for a moment before placing the flowers at the stone's base. "Here you go, Charlotte." She reached out and traced the letters with her index finger. Then Melody looked up at the sky with her hand still on Charlotte's tomb stone. It wasn't overcast, but there were quite a few white clouds in the sky. "Hello?"

Confused by Melody's question, she turned to see if Melody had heard someone approach, but no one was there.

"Are you there, Charlotte?"

Lisbon looked back at Melody, surprised.

"My name is Melody. I'm your daddy's friend. I don't know where he is today. Maybe you've seen him. My daddy is away, too, right now. Maybe you miss your daddy. I miss mine, too. But it's okay. They're not gone forever. One day, we're all going to be angels. Maybe I can meet you and your mommy."

Lisbon quietly observed Melody as she went over and placed the bouquet she held at the base of Angela's stone.

"I'm sure you and your mommy have lots of angel friends to have fun with. But, if you get lonely you could get an angel puppy. My daddy's friends had a doggy. Her name was Daisy. She was a good doggy. When I was really little, Daisy would let me ride on her back. But Daisy started being a doggy angel last year. Everyone said she went to doggy heaven. I don't know if it's the same as human heaven or if you can get there from human heaven, but, if you can, you should go visit her. Maybe your mommy will let you adopt her. She was really fun. I liked Daisy. I think you will, too. Anyway, you should go back and play with your angel friends. Don't worry. I'll ask your mommy if you can get Daisy." Melody lifted her hand from Charlotte's tomb stone and hurried to stand next to Lisbon in front of Angela's and placed her hand on the stone. "Hi. I'm Melody. I'm Patrick's friend and I just told Charlotte about my daddy's friend's doggy named Daisy who became a doggy angel. Maybe you and Charlotte can adopt Daisy. I'm sure you'll like her. I promise she's a good doggy." Melody took her hand off the stone and looked at Lisbon.

"Did you talk to grandma and grandpa like that, too?" Lisbon asked.

"I don't know if they heard me." Melody told her. "They get messages from their angel stones, right?"

"They might."

"Do you think they'll adopt Daisy? Did they like dogs?" Melody tilted her head.

"They loved dogs."

Lisbon and Melody both jumped. They hadn't heard Jane walk up behind them. Melody slipped on some grass when she jumped and turned, causing her to land on her butt. Lisbon stood properly and helped Melody up.

"Hi." Lisbon blurted dumbly, not succeeding at looking innocent. Good thing she stopped herself before she added, '_what are you doing here?_'

"Hello." Jane nodded.

"You think they'll adopt Daisy?" Melody asked, blushing and trying not to look guilty.

"I'm sure they will." Jane gave her a small smile.

"I helped Teresa pick out the flowers. Do they like flowers, too?"

"They liked flowers, too."

Melody smiled softly. "Good. Maybe they can smell them. They smell nice."

"I'm sure they do. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

There were a few moments of tense silence that passed between all of them.

"I'm sorry." Lisbon mumbled, breaking the silence. "We were just leaving. I understand if you want to be alone. Come on, Melody." Lisbon took Melody's hand and tried to walk past Jane, but he grabbed her wrist.

"It's okay." He told her, looking her in the eyes. "Stay. Please."

"…Okay." Lisbon nodded.

Jane let go of her wrist, crouched down and picked Melody up, hugging her tightly.

Melody hugged him back and patted his head gently.

Lisbon smiled, content to stand off to the side. It seemed Jane had other plans as one of his arms reached out, pulling her against him, involving her in a group hug. Lisbon hugged him and Melody back, resting her head on his shoulder. None of them knew how much time had past before their group hug ended, but they felt a bit better.

"We should probably get going." Lisbon said quietly. "My lunch break can't last forever. So, if you need some time…I mean…"

"I'll go back with you." Jane told her gently. "May I just…have a moment?"

"Yeah." Lisbon nodded. "Of course. Melody and I will wait in the car. Come on, sweetie." Lisbon took Melody from Jane.

"Promise you'll come with us?" Melody asked, looking at Jane. "Promise you won't leave while we wait?"

"I promise." Jane nodded.

"And if you leave again, you'll say goodbye?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't before."

"It's okay." Melody nodded as Lisbon turned and they headed for the car.

Jane watched them for a moment as they walked away, turning to look at the graves when he saw they were both near the cemetery gate. He sighed heavily. A whole day of thinking and he was still wondering if any of it was right. The past month be had loosened up and looked at the possibility of moving on. Getting past all of it, even though he didn't have Red John. That would come. He would make sure that happened. He'd told Angela once that he'd die if he ever lost her and Charlotte. Her response was that, that was a terrible decision. She'd wanted him to be happy no matter what and she hoped that he'd want the same for her. She was sick of being sad and pitiful for people. That's why she left the carnival scene, after all-why _they_ had left. He wondered if she would have changed her mind now about her statement. Would she still want him to move on? He glanced in the direction of Lisbon's car. At least it might be with someone worthwhile. Someone he legitimately cared for and loved. Jane stepped forward and placed one hand on each of the stones before him. "I love you both. I'm never going to forget you or pretend you didn't exist. I'm sorry." He didn't cry. He'd done enough of that already. "Angela. I'm going to try and do what you told me you would have wanted." With that, he removed his hands from the stones and gave the stones one final look before he turned and walked back to join Lisbon and Melody in the car.

"Is there somewhere you want me to drop you off, or are you going to come back to the office with us?" Lisbon asked quietly when Jane shut the door after getting in the front passenger seat.

"I'm going with you guys." Jane gave her a small smile.

"Okay, then." Lisbon returned his small smile with one of her own and started the car, driving out of the lot.

-Mentalist-

It was better knowing where Jane was, though he was hold up in his attic. Occasionally he'd made some appearances throughout the day. Usually when he wanted a new cup of coffee, had to use the bathroom or to entertain Melody so Lisbon could work. They all left work early that night as well. Lisbon thought that they might as well have taken that week off, too, for it was unlikely they were really going to do something anyway.

"Ready to go home?" Lisbon asked Melody as she shut down her computer and got up from behind her desk.

"Yeah." Melody smiled at her from the office couch. "Is Patrick coming, too?"

"I'll go ask him. You should go to the bathroom before we leave. I'll meet you back here in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Melody slid off the couch and headed over to the washroom.

Lisbon headed out of her office and up to the attic. "Jane?" She knocked on the door before opening it. She saw Jane sitting with his back to her, at the little desk under the attic window.

Jane turned to look at her. "Yes, Teresa?"

"Melody wants to know if you'll be accompanying us home tonight."

"That depends."

"On?"

"If you want me to."

"Well, if I didn't, I wouldn't be standing here now, would I?" Lisbon gave an encouraging smile.

"You got me there." Jane nodded.

"Great. Melody is waiting for us in my office." Lisbon turned to leave, expecting him to follow.

"Teresa?"

Lisbon turned to look at Jane again as he got up and walked over to her.

"What is it?" Lisbon asked, concerned.

Jane wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you." He whispered.

Lisbon returned his hug, but was very confused. "For what?"

"For being so kind and wonderful."

"Y-you're welcome." Lisbon blushed slightly, hugging him back.

"I'm sorry that I've been so off today." He told her as he pulled away.

"No, no. It's okay. I understand." Lisbon nodded. "You love them and you miss them. I don't blame you for that. It wouldn't be fair. It's only right that you love and miss them."

"Thank you." Jane said again. "Lets go home. I'm sure Melody is getting tired and impatient."

"Yeah." Lisbon smiled at him. "I'm sure she is."

They both made their way back to Lisbon's office, finding Melody spinning herself in Lisbon's office chair.

"Ready to go?" Lisbon asked, placing a hand on the chair to stop it from spinning.

"Mhm." Melody hopped off the chair, stumbling a little when she stood because she had made herself dizzy.

Jane and Lisbon chuckled, Lisbon picking Melody up.

"Lets go home." Lisbon said.

"Can we have cookies?" Melody asked. "We didn't finish all the cookies we made."

"Sure." Lisbon nodded. "We can have some cookies."

-Mentalist-

Jane, Lisbon and Melody were all curled up on the couch, in their pyjamas, watching TV after eating some cookies with milk. Lisbon saw Melody's eyelids drooping and knew that it was only a matter of time before her niece fell asleep.

"I think it's time for someone to go to bed." Jane pointed out, smiling.

"Okay. Nice dreams, Patrick." Melody said and then yawned.

"I think he was talking about you." Lisbon chuckled.

"But, I don't _want_ to." Melody complained.

"It's already past your bedtime." Lisbon told her, standing and picking Melody up.

"But-"

"No 'but's'." Lisbon told her. "Come on."

Jane went with them upstairs.

"Will you sing me a song?" Melody asked, hoping to prolong herself having to go to sleep.

"What do you want me to sing you?" Lisbon asked as she walked into the guest room that Melody was using.

"I don't know." Melody shrugged and rubbed her eyes. "Something pretty. You know lots of pretty songs."

"Um…" Lisbon couldn't think of anything and looked over at Jane, pleading expression in her eyes.

"I have one." Jane said.

Lisbon sighed in relief.

"You even know it, Teresa."

"Well, I'm ready to hear it."

Jane cleared his throat and began to softly sing. "_You would not believe your eyes, If ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep_…"

Lisbon smiled. She did actually know the song. "_'Cause they'd fill the open air And leave teardrops everywhere. You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare."_

Jane smiled. She'd caught on. He'd remembered her singing it under her breath one day and then recognised it when it played on the radio. He decided to learn the lyrics.

They both sang. "_I'd like to make myself believe, that planet earth turns slowly. It's hard to say I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, 'cause everything is never as it seems_…"

Melody was fast asleep by the time they finished singing.

Lisbon kissed Melody's head, placing her on the bed and Jane helped her tuck Melody in. Then Lisbon went over to the chair where Melody's suitcase was and began putting Melody's clothes back in it.

"What are you doing?" Jane asked quietly, not wanting Melody to wake up.

"Packing her stuff." Lisbon replied. "She leaves tomorrow. I have to have her stuff packed."

Jane frowned slightly at that information. It felt like Melody had just gotten there. Now she was leaving? "Is she going to come back and visit again?" He looked at Melody and smiled, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Maybe. It depends on James, really." Lisbon shifted some clothes around.

"Why don't we just pack all her stuff up tomorrow?" Jane sighed, making his way over to Lisbon. "It's getting late and it's been a long day."

"It has." Lisbon agreed, pausing with one of Melody's shirts in her hand.

"I need to talk to you."

Lisbon glanced back at Melody. "Okay." She put the shirt in the suitcase and they left Melody's room, making their way back downstairs to the living room.

Jane sat down on the couch and gestured for Lisbon to sit next to him. She did, tentatively. He took one of her hands in his. "I'm sorry that I took off this morning." His voice was barely above a whisper. "I just…needed time alone to think. And I did. It really wasn't easy."

"Okay." Lisbon said encouragingly, wanting to encourage him to speak, but not wanting to force him.

"This past month we've grown closer…if that was ever possible."

"We have."

"Teresa, I don't regret it. But it seemed so easy once I started being around you and Melody more. Then I realised what today was…and I felt terrible. I felt like I had forgotten about them, because that's almost what I did. I _do_ love you. I need you to know that I will try-that I _am_ trying to move on. With you. If you'll let me. I just…I felt I really needed to make a decision about that."

"Patrick. If you're worried about hurting my feelings…I don't want you to force yourself-"

"I'm not." He interrupted her. "I'm not forcing myself to want to be with you. I _do_ want to be with you. Angela told me once that if anything happened, she wanted me to be happy. She was smart. Maybe I'll listen to her. For once. Sometimes she said that I never listened."

"You don't." Lisbon confirmed. "I agree with her completely."

Jane let out an almost humoured laugh.

"Everything's going to be fine." Lisbon squeezed his hand.

Jane looked at her and smiled back. "I think you're right." He let go of her hand and wrapped her in a tight hug.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, the song they sing is _Fireflies_ by Owl City. I had to think really hard and go through my iTunes to try and figure out what song I wanted to use. I thought that one was cute and sort of fit. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought of it! =3  
**


	29. I Promise

**Author's Note: This is the second last chapter for this story. I'm really sad that it's so close to being finished, but at the same time I'm proud that I've pretty much seen it through to the end. It's a bittersweet feeling. Warning: this chapter is also a little bit sad.  
**

**Disclaimer: So...I guess that was a no on the "buying a share" thing?  
**

* * *

Lisbon quickly packed up all of Melody's things the next morning before they headed to the office. Almost everything had returned to normal, though Lisbon wasn't completely sure what 'normal' was anymore. It had become totally normal for Melody to be around the office, and now she was going home. It had become normal that Jane stayed with her and…she really wasn't sure what was happening with that at all. It had even become normal for Jane to spend most of his time at work in her office, which was something else she wasn't sure about. Lisbon was working at her desk as Melody and Jane sat on her office couch and played a video game. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of them, Jane giving Melody a high-five for accomplishing whatever it was on the video game. Her phone rang after she went back to reading the report she had in front of her. "Lisbon." She listened for a moment to the person on the other end. "Yeah, she-…why-…Okay. Do you want to talk to her? She's right here." Lisbon moved the receiver from her ear and looked over at Melody. "Melody, it's daddy. Come say hello."

Melody's face lit up and she all but threw her game to the side and fell off the couch before running over to take the phone from her aunt. "Hi, Daddy!"

Lisbon picked Melody up and placed her on her lap.

"Yeah! Teresa and Patrick took me to the zoo! AndDisneylandndNiagaraFallsa nd-…Sorry. And we had case closed pizza one time…I am. Mhm. Yeah. Okay. I love you too, Daddy. Bye." Melody looked up at Lisbon and handed her the phone.

Lisbon took it and put the receiver back to her ear. "I think she had an okay time…It was no problem. Honestly…Yeah, I'll see you soon. Love you, too. Bye." With that, Lisbon hung the phone up.

-Mentalist-

"How about we go out for lunch today?" Jane suggested randomly as Melody coloured a picture at the little table in Lisbon's office.

"Going out two days in a row?" Melody looked up.

"Maybe just you and Melody should go." Lisbon said.

Jane gave Lisbon a suspicious look.

"I have lots of work to do."

Jane's face fell to an expression that said 'now I _know_ something's wrong'.

Lisbon just shook her head and gave him a pleading expression.

Suspicion returned to Jane's face. "Very well. Should I bring you back something?"

"Tacos!" Melody suggested cheerfully.

"I thought cheeseburgers were your favourite food." Lisbon looked at Melody.

"That was _before_ I liked tacos." Melody informed her.

"Of course." Jane said, getting up from his spot on Lisbon's couch and strolling over to Melody. "Cheeseburgers are so three months ago. Tacos are what's cool right now."

Melody giggled.

"Melody. Why don't you go let the rest of the team know that you and I are going out for lunch?" Jane suggested, lifting Melody out of her seat.

"Okay." Melody nodded as Jane placed her on the ground and she took off toward the bullpen. "What did James tell you on the phone." Jane said as the door had just barely shut behind Melody.

"He didn't-"

"It's painfully obvious that whatever he told was a bit upsetting."

"Patrick, he didn't-"

"Don't lie to me."

Lisbon huffed. "_He didn't_ actually say anything upsetting. All he said was that there was something important he needed to tell me and that he didn't want Melody present. He said he'd be here at one thirty. That's half an hour. I've been trying to figure out a way to make sure Melody's not here when he arrives. Please, do this for me."

Jane stared at her for a good minute. "Fine. Under the condition that you tell me whatever this big secret is. Good or bad."

"You can't just do it because you love me?"

"Well, that's another reason, but it's not a condition. The condition is that you tell me."

Lisbon sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll tell you later. Please, just take her for lunch. Take your time. _Don't_ take her for tacos again. She'll have a heart attack from those things, I swear."

"Fine. We'll go to McDonald's." Jane teased.

"I take it back. Go for tacos."

Jane smiled and let out a small laugh as Melody returned.

"Are we going now?"

"Yeah." Jane nodded, grabbing Sir. Stitch-a-Lot from the table.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Melody asked Lisbon.

"I'm sure." Lisbon told her, getting up from her desk. "I have to finish all my work. But I look forward to you and Patrick bringing me something yummy back to eat." She crouched down and gave Melody a tight hug. "Be good." She kissed Melody's head. "I love you."

Melody kissed Lisbon's cheek. "I love you, too."

After Jane gave Lisbon a hug, the pair was off to lunch and Lisbon went back to sitting behind her desk. She practically stared at the clock for the next half hour, trying to will time into moving faster. She had a bad feeling in her gut and she just wanted to talk to James to know what was so important that Melody couldn't be around to witness. Her heart did a weird mix of sinking into her gut and leaping for joy when she saw James approaching her office through the window walls. She quickly got up and walked over to the door as he walked in.

"Hey." He greeted with a small smile, instantly wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Hi." Lisbon was a little shocked, but hugged him back.

James pulled away and fidgeted awkwardly. "Can you…can you please shut the curtains?" He glanced at the transparent glass that was most of the office's walls.

"Sure." Lisbon nodded and set about the task as James took a seat on her couch. Lisbon quickly sat down once she was done closing the blinds. "What do you have to tell me?" Lisbon was quiet and gentle, but serious.

James stared at his knees for a moment, trying to gather himself. He looked up at her. "I-…Teresa. Don't freak out. Please, don't."

"James. Whatever you need, I'll help you."

"I have cancer."

Lisbon flinched backward as if she had been slapped. "What?" She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Please don't make me say it again."

"But-I don't-how-"

"It's bone cancer. They told me it's not necessarily fatal and that it's manageable with physiotherapy and medication, but it will limit my abilities."

"It's not fatal." Lisbon grasped at that small ray of good news, though tears still began to form in her eyes. "That's good. Is it curable as well?"

"There isn't a cure yet. And if I get hurt, it will seriously hold me back from properly recovering."

"You'll be fine." Lisbon said with finality, wiping at her eyes. "You will."

"Look. Sacramento Hospital has the best cancer treatment centre I can find and afford. I've been looking into apartments over here because I can't travel here from Chicago every time I need treatment. I've been thinking about what this means for Melody. She can't stay with Tommy. He barely has the funds to keep up with a teenager. No way could he handle a four-year-old too. I'm not giving Melody over to her mother. The woman barely recognises that Melody even exists. What I saw in her, I really don't recall."

"She can't move here with you?"

"I had wanted to keep her in Chicago where I had friends and Tommy, but it looks like I'll have to have her move here with me too. That's why I looked for two-bedroom apartments. I don't want her to grow up so far away from me. I'll have to register her with a new school down here, but I guess it's best that she doesn't move after starting school."

"She's good at making friends." Lisbon commented.

"I know. She's really bold." A moment of silence fell upon Lisbon's office. "There's something else I need to ask you."

"What is it?"

"I need to know that if something happens to me; if the cancer gets worse somehow or I take a fall and can't recover, I need to know that Melody is going to be taken care of. I want to give you custody of her. Or partial custody. _Something_. If I wait too long to give custody of her to someone else and then something happens to me that I can't give it to someone else, she's going to be awarded to the state. Even if it is in my will that she be given to someone else, you know how it is. They do their assessment of the person, fill out paperwork, all that other stuff and Melody's stuck in some foster home in the meantime. I need to know that won't happen. If someone else has custody _before_ anything happens, then she won't have to go through any of that."

"Partial. I'll take partial, but I won't take it all. She's your daughter. Besides, you can take medication, so you'll be fine." Lisbon felt her throat constrict and more tears well in her eyes.

"Thank you. I know it's not fair for me to have asked, but I needed to know she'd be fine." Tears pooled in James' eyes as well.

"It's fine." Lisbon shook her head. "I understand and I don't mind. You're doing what you think is best for Melody and I respect that." She leaned forward and gave James a tight hug. "We're going to get through this. Everything's going to be fine."

James cleared his throat and pulled away, drying his hears. "Anyway. She was good for you, right? She didn't cause too much trouble around here, I hope."

"She was great." Lisbon smiled. "There's nothing to complain about."

"Good." James nodded. "I was afraid that she'd be really distracting while you were at work."

"Don't worry. She had plenty of eager volunteers to play with her. I even managed to get two weeks of vacation time this month."

"Two weeks probably isn't half the vacation time you have acquired since you started working here. Workaholic."

"Shut up." Lisbon smacked his shoulder lightly.

James smirked slightly.

"Teresa!" Melody burst through Lisbon's office door, Jane right behind her. "We got you chicken fing-DADDY!" She dropped the paper bag she was holding and bolted over to the couch to scramble into her fathers arms.

"Hey, sweetie!" James hugged his daughter tightly and kissed her head.

Jane picked up the bag that Melody had dropped and checked to contents to make sure they were still good as he closed the door behind him.

"Was your trip good, Daddy?"

"Yes, it was." James sat Melody down on his lap. "I hear you had lots of fun with Teresa."

"I did." Melody smiled and nodded. "We went to Disneyland. And I met Ariel and Mulan and Cinderella and Jasmine. Pocahontas was away on vacation, though. So I couldn't see her."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm sure you still had fun, right?"

"Right." Melody nodded again.

"Good. I have something important that I have to tell you."

Lisbon saw Jane raise a brow at her, questioningly, as he placed the paper bag on her desk. She silently got up and walked over to him, grateful that she'd closed the blinds.

"What's the big secret?" Jane asked quietly when she was standing next to him.

Lisbon took a deep breath. "He has cancer." Was her almost inaudible reply.

Jane's face fell in disbelief. Of all the things he figured that it could be, _that_ was not one of them. He turned back to watch James and Melody.

"You and I are going to come live in Sacramento."

"Why, Daddy?" Melody asked. "Do you not like Chicago anymore?"

"That's not why." James shook his head. "I have to be near the hospital here. I'm not healthy right now."

"You don't look sick." Melody placed her hand on James' forehead. "You don't feel hot."

"I don't have the flu or a cold, Melody. I…There are parts of me that don't work properly. And the hospital here is the best to help me get better."

"If it doesn't work, can't you get a new one? A trans-pant?"

"It's not that easy. It's not something that can be replaced. It has to be fixed. And that's what I'm going to try to do."

"And Sacramento Hospital can help?"

"Yes."

"But, don't adults have to work, Daddy? What about your work? And my school. I already got signed up for school. Remember, Daddy? We signed me up for the school in Chicago."

"We'll find you another school in Sacramento. I'm sure it'll be a very nice school. And you're very good at making friends, you know that? You'll have lots of fun. My work gave me a transfer to work over here. That's all taken care of."

"And what about our stuff, Daddy? Are we leaving it in Chicago?"

"No." James shook his head. "We're going to bring it over here to our new apartment."

"A new apartment?" Melody smiled.

"Yeah. I saw this one that had bigger bedrooms. You'd get a bigger bedroom."

"Really?"

"Really."

"What kind of cancer?" Jane whispered in Lisbon's ear.

"Bone." She replied just as quietly. "He said it's not necessarily fatal and it's controllable with medication, but-"

"He's still worried." Jane finished for her. "Understandable. Anything else?"

Lisbon hesitated. "He…he asked me to take partial custody of Melody."

"You said yes, I hope."

"Yes, I said yes. But he's overreacting. He's going to be fine."

"That's not the point. He knows that, no matter what, Melody is going to have someone to take care of her. I would have done the exact same thing in his position."

Lisbon looked at Jane a little surprised. She supposed that none of that really should have surprised her, but it did a bit. It was the fatherly-protective part of him that she very rarely saw, for the obvious reason that situations for it to shine almost never came around.

"We can handle this." Jane promised, pulling Lisbon into a tight hug. "We will. Even the team will help if they have to. You know that." He kissed her head. "I promise I'll do everything I can to help. I always will."

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's chapter 29. I promise the next chapter won't be sad. Also, thank you to everyone for your views, reviews, favourites and follows. It's your support that's encouraged me to keep writing, and I can't believe that I've gotten all the way up to 29 chapters.  
**


	30. Yes or No

**Author's Note: GGGUUUUYYYYYSSSSSSS! This is the last chapter. :( That makes me so sad that it's over. I wrote this while I was snowed into my house. Literally. There was SO MUCH SNOW. Anyway. This chapter is quite happier than the last two chapters and I hope you enjoy it.  
**

**Disclaimer:...  
**

* * *

The next few weeks were quite busy. Tommy and Annabeth were recruited to help James and Melody move to Sacramento, Lisbon did take partial custody of Melody and James signed Melody up for a new school. Jane also had to come clean to Millie and the rest of the hospital about pretending to be Melody's father to be able to ride in the ambulance, which they didn't take as badly as Lisbon had expected. They seemed to find it funny. One of the most dreaded items on Lisbon's list of things to was confess to the team about her and Jane. No one was surprised, much to her chagrin. At all. Van Pelt seemed relieved that it was finally admitted and then returned to her work, Cho just nodded and returned to reading his book and Rigsby gave them a thumbs up before looking back at his computer. Lisbon was not sure if their unsurprised reactions were a good thing or a bad thing. But it was done, and that's what mattered.

"All that's left is Melody's toys and some of the other stuff in her room." Tommy said as he placed another big brown box near the others that were clustered by the door.

"We can't leave all my stuffed animals." Melody said, taking Lisbon's hand and dragging her with them into her old room.

Lisbon hadn't realised the extent of Melody's stuffed animal collection. Everyone seemed to buy her stuffed animals. She felt like she had died and gone to a stuffed animal toy store heaven. And Melody had a name for all of them. Every. Single. One. "Tell me you didn't buy her _all_ of these, James."

"Of course not." James shook his head. "Tommy and Annabeth bought a few. I think Stella bought most of them."

"Daddy, we have to say goodbye to Stella."

"We'll see if she's free." James patted Melody's back.

When the first box for Melody's room was filled, Lisbon carried it out and placed it by the door. Who knew that a bunch of stuffed animals could be so heavy?

"You got it okay?" Melody asked, approaching her. "You didn't drop it?"

"No, I managed." Lisbon smiled at her.

A knock on the door drew both of their attention.

Lisbon looked through the peephole in the door as Melody stood next to her. Lisbon took Melody's arm and pulled her gently behind her before opening the door to see their visitor. "Can I help you?" she tried not to sound so irritated with the other woman's existence.

"Hi, Teresa." The other woman smiled and greeted bubbly. "Is James around?" She had medium brown hair that was worn in loose waves and blue eyes.

"He's busy." Lisbon said plainly.

"I just need to talk to him for a second."

"Sorry, Janis. Lots to do."

Melody poked her head around from behind Lisbon's leg to look at the woman at the door.

"Hi, Melody." Janis leaned down, smiling.

Melody's face displayed her confusion and worry as she held onto Lisbon's pat leg. "Hi."

"How are you? I haven't seen you in a long time."

"Because you never want to see me." Melody reminded her.

"No, sweetie. That's not it. I'm just really busy."

"No you're not."

"I am."

"No. You just don't want me. That's what you told Daddy. Remember, Mommy? You told Daddy to give me to adoption." Melody shuffled closer to Lisbon.

"How about you go help the others." Lisbon suggested to Melody. "I'm sure they'd love your help."

"You come, too." Melody looked up at her.

"I will. I'll be there in a moment." Lisbon assured her.

"Now."

"In a minute."

"No."

Lisbon sighed heavily. "We're busy." Lisbon said to Janis. "Come back later. If you even had a good reason for coming in the first place."

"How dare you." Janis gasped. "I come to see my child and her father-"

"I doubt you just came to see them." Lisbon interrupted.

Janis crouched down. "Melody, come here." She reached out to touch Melody, but the young girl stepped back, pulling Lisbon's leg with her.

"_O-_kay." Lisbon got her balance after a moment and picked Melody up. "Please. Just go home, Janis. You're upsetting her."

"You're just her aunt. Let me talk to James."

"Oh, no." James moved Lisbon to the side. "What is it now?"

"I'm here to take Melody for a few days."

"Excuse me?" James was shocked. "Teresa, could you…?" He tilted his head away from the door.

"Yeah." Lisbon nodded and went over to the kitchen area, cuddling Melody.

A few minutes later James shut the door and Tommy and Annabeth appeared from Melody's room carrying boxes.

"Who was that?" Annabeth asked, setting her box next to the one her father had put down.

"No one important." James shook his head and made his way over to the kitchen area to take Melody from Lisbon.

"By 'no one important', do you mean Melody's…other parent?" Jane inquired as he strolled in.

"Oh, thanks for your _help_ carrying everything." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"No problem. Anytime." Jane shot her a smirk. "Am I right, though."

"Yes." Lisbon said quickly, hoping to end the subject.

"Ew. Why would she come around here?" Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "She's such a bitch."

"Annie!" Tommy scolded her.

"I'm just saying what she is."

"Lets get everything in the in the trucks." Lisbon suggested to give James and Melody some space and they all set about their task.

-Mentalist-

After Melody and James had officially settled into their new apartment, life took on its new version of normal where Melody was in the CBI offices every few days when James was at work or at the hospital and Jane was especially bored with work. Rigsby's babysitter for Benjamin had happily accepted babysitting Melody as well.

"Ahem!" Jane cleared his throat loudly as he walked into the bullpen, everyone at their desks and Lisbon talking with Van Pelt. "Everyone, if I may have your attention."

He did have their attention.

"What's this about?" Lisbon asked, folding her arms and leaning on Van Pelt's desk. The last time he had walked into the bullpen like this, it was followed by him and Melody performing _The Itsby Bitsy Spider_.

"Why don't you join me over here to find out." Jane gestured for her to join him.

"I'm not performing _The Itsby Bitsy Spider_ with you." Lisbon shook her head, smiling.

"I guarantee that there are no spiders involved. Or anything else that's itsy or bitsy. Come."

Lisbon rolled her eyes and walked over to join him where he was standing in the middle of the bullpen. "Okay. Are you going to try and scare me or something?"

"Better." Jane smiled.

Oh, no. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

"We've known each other quite a few years." Jane continued.

"Yeah…"

"Things have happened. Things have changed.

"Yeah. Okay…"

"And I really only have one question for you."

"Uh-huh…" Lisbon tried to act casual, but could feel her cheeks warming up.

"We love each other and I was wondering…"

Everyone watched Jane, waiting for him to continue as he glanced at one of the entrances to the bullpen.

"We love each other and I was wondering…" Jane repeated a bit louder. Still nothing. "_And I was wondering_…" He said again, just a bit louder.

"Oh!" Melody ran into the bullpen and over to them. "Teresa! Will you marry Patrick!?" Jane picked her up as she fumbled with the little red velvet box, forgetting which side it opened on. Finally, she got it and held the open box towards her aunt, smiling.

Lisbon was speechless for a moment, unable to keep the smile and blush off her face. "Yes." She managed after a moment.

"Yay!" Melody cheered as Jane put her down and took the ring out of the box.

Lisbon let Jane put the ring on her finger before they hugged each other tightly and kissed.

There were cheers and woof-woof whistles throughout the bullpen.

"Ew." Melody giggled, closing her eyes and then placing her hands over them.

"_Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present."_ - John Rohn

_**THE**_** END**

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's the end of this fanfic. I am planning on a sequel, so keep your eyes out for it. I have enjoyed writing this fanfiction a lot and I thank you all for your continued support and encouragement to keep writing. It's so bittersweet to finally have finished it because I'm proud of myself for doing so and sad it's over. I'm usually so bad at being able to finish stories, but I managed to finish this. Please leave a review and let me know what you think to the ending. It was the best way I could think to end it. See you all later! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**


End file.
